July / August 2026

Find out what your fellow alums are up to—new jobs, babies, marriages, and much more—in Class Notes!

1950s

1951

As promised in our last column, we share with you now more reflections from Calvin Gage. “At age 97, my travels are now limited to about a 30-mile radius from my Illinois home—many miles from Ithaca. For the 70th Reunion, during COVID, I connected with several classmates via Zoom—and would hope to do so again, if that option will be available. Here, in this note, I’ll just reminisce.

“My first connection with Cornell was in the spring of 1947, when I applied for and was granted a four-year national scholarship, which provided free tuition and $600 cash a year. Tuition in the College of Arts & Sciences was $600 per year, so the four-year value of the scholarship was $4,800. The $600 cash was enough to cover lodging, meals, books, and other incidentals. The biggest expense for my parents was the train fare: Minneapolis to Chicago via the 400, the Hiawatha, or the Zephyr; Chicago to Buffalo via the New York Central; and Buffalo to Ithaca via Lehigh Valley’s Black Diamond.

“Note: According to a source on the Internet, the inflated value of the 1947 dollar in 2026 is $14.59. Applied to the annual value of my scholarship: $1,200 x 14.59 = $17,508. That’s a far cry from $96,000 for a year in 2026, calculated on the Cornell website.

I was assigned a room on the top floor. I had views to the north, looking out over Cayuga’s waters, and to the east, looking out at Libe Slope.

Calvin Gage ’51

“When I arrived at the campus in September 1947, I was assigned a room on the top floor (the eighth) in McFaddin Hall. I had views to the north, looking out over Cayuga’s waters, and to the east, looking out at Libe Slope. I soon learned that the prestige sport was crew and the toughest college was engineering, with chemical engineering being the toughest major of all. Engineering students could be spotted wearing slide rules on their hips.

“The enrollment of the University was about 10–12,000, including many veterans on the GI Bill, and maybe 2,000 co-eds, whose numbers were limited by the rooms available in the women’s dorms.

“I was enchanted by the Chimes and entered the competition for chimesmaster. I didn’t have the right stuff musically, but I learned to play ‘The Cornell Changes,’ a.k.a. ‘The Jenny McGraw Rag,’ the piece that began each morning’s Chimes concert. It was physically very demanding, so when I volunteered to play it for the chimesmasters, several of them were delighted, and I did so for many mornings during my freshman year.”

If you enjoyed reading Calvin’s reminiscences, please send in your own! ❖ Class of 1951 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1952 & 1953

We hope this column finds you well, wherever you are. Please take a moment to fill out the online news form to let us know what you’ve been up to. What are your plans for the summer? Who from the Hill do you still keep in touch with? What was the most impactful thing you learned while at Cornell? We’d love to hear from you. ❖ Classes of 1952 & 1953 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1954

On a dreary day in Iowa, with a blizzard approaching, we are promised bitter cold and very high winds, which will transform a light snowfall into treacherous conditions. I am glad to think of your reading these words at the beginning of summer.

One friend from our class has been on my mind. You may remember her: Inger Abrahamsen McCabe Elliott. She studied history in Arts and Sciences. She was active in many groups on campus: freshman class council, One World Club, Willard Straight committees, Freshman Camp, Mortar Board, and WSGA. In case younger alums are reading this, WSGA was the Women’s Self-Government Association. Oh my, that really dates us. We felt fortunate to have some influence over the rules and regulations under which we lived. Cornell co-eds had much more freedom (on things like hours—remember those?) than women studying elsewhere. Inger became president of WSGA during our senior year. I don’t recall her most important projects, but I’m sure she worked hard to advance our causes.

Inger died at 90 in January 2024. Between 1954 and 2024, her life was full and significant. She earned a master’s in history at Harvard. She taught. She became a photojournalist. She was in Vietnam during the war. She married a Newsweek journalist; they lived in Hong Kong. She produced three children; they adopted two Chinese children. She learned a lot about the culture of that part of the world. Later, she married Osborn “Oz” Elliott, editor of Newsweek.

Along the way she learned a great deal about batik. Later she wrote a scholarly book called Batik: Fabled Cloth of Java. (Copyright 1984; the Iowa library system located a copy for me.) It describes the lure of Java, the various religions and their influence on batik, batik in the royal courts, batik along the North Coast and in eastern Java, the role of women in creating batik, and modern batik. It has many photos of batik designs. It offers a lot if you are interested in fabric and design.

Inger Abrahamsen McCabe Elliott ’54 formed the textile company China Seas. I was able to see some of the fabrics she had inspired to be created for the modern market.

Ruth Carpenter Bailey ’54

Inger formed the textile company China Seas. About 40 years ago I visited her in her office in New York. I was able to see some of the fabrics she had inspired to be created for the modern market. And of course I talked with her! What a treat.

Subsequent to her death, the alumni office shared an announcement that included the following: “Photojournalist who created portraits of Ingrid Bergman and Marlon Brando; founder, China Seas textile design firm; author; key figure in the events that inspired John Guare’s play Six Degrees of Separation; developed Conversations at Sotheby’s; member, Council on Foreign Relations; trustee emeritus, the Asia Society; active in community, professional, and alumni affairs.” There’s much more about Inger online.

We’d like to feature other classmates and their unique stories. Please share them with us! Or share stories about your friends and even you! That reminds me of my mother’s experience while in the Navy during the Depression. She was reluctant to share personal stories in a social setting. One of the officers’ wives said, “You may as well tell us. If you don’t, we’ll just make it up.” Please don’t drive me to that extreme. ❖ Ruth Carpenter Bailey (email Ruth) | Class website | Alumni Directory.

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1955

Happy summer! If you are reading this, please take a moment to fill out the online news form to let us know what you’ve been up to! How has your life changed—or not changed—lately? Who from the Hill do you still keep in touch with? What was the most impactful thing you learned while at Cornell? We’d love to hear from you! ❖ Class of 1955 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1956

By the time you read this column, our 70th Reunion will have passed. We hope that we hear from each and every one of you who was able to attend! We’d love to share your Reunion experiences here, so those who weren’t lucky enough to join in person can live vicariously through you.

Naomi Spatz shares, “I celebrated an extraordinary birthday in early April by hosting a multigenerational cocktail party. I was shocked to find myself still upright and cooking for 30 people. One classmate, Roberta Karpel Silman, was at my party.

“My husband, a playwright, and I live in Lenox/Stockbridge full time, having sold our Riverside Drive apartment during COVID. We both offer courses for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Pittsfield, MA. While not as spry as I once was (no more tennis), we are still traveling: a safari in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana in November, and our annual Mexico trip in February.

“A number of Cornellians live in the area. There are many competing events here, particularly in the summer with Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow, and many theaters. I recommend the Berkshires as an active, beautiful spot for retirement—but you have to drive! Be well.” ❖ Class of 1956 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1957

Soon after our Cornell graduation in 1957, three of our alumnae, Jo Field Bleakley, Betty Ann Rice Keane, and Sue Westin Pew, headed for new adventures by renting an apartment together in Cambridge, MA. Employment, further education, and, yes, parties ensued as the three women enjoyed meeting people. Betty Ann met Harvard ’55 man Kevin Keane in 1958, when he needed another person to fill in his crew for the next race. Betty Ann quickly volunteered, and so began their romance.

That December, the women had a Christmas party. Also doing graduate studies at Harvard the same time as Kevin was Dick Pew ’55, and he was invited to the party. Sue recalls knowing who Dick was while we were undergrads, but this party sparked the romantic relationship between them. Dick earned his master’s in experimental psychology from Harvard and a PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan, served as a professor at Michigan, and, when they returned to the Boston area in 1974, became principal scientist at BBN Technologies.

Retirement found the Pews living in the Waterstone Senior Living community in Lexington, MA. Their last move was to Wesleyan Village, a retirement community in Elyria, OH, the city where their daughter Betsy lives. Sadly, Dick passed away in October 2025. Married for 66 years, they had three children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Sue continues to maintain her close ties with her Cornell lifelong friends.

Betty Ann moved from Orchard Park, NY, to Waterstone in Lexington, MA, where, at that time, her dear friends Sue and Dick Pew lived. Betty Ann’s husband, Kevin, had passed away in 2019 after their many years living in the Buffalo area. Betty Ann had earned her master’s in education in 1960 from Boston University, and Kevin earned his MBA from Harvard the same year. Off to Buffalo, NY, they went and made their life there, he with his career (later becoming president and chairman of the board) at Astronics Corp., she with their growing family of five children, all of whom were born within seven years.

After graduation, Jo Field Bleakley ’57, Betty Ann Rice Keane ’57, and Sue Westin Pew ’57, headed for new adventures by renting an apartment together in Cambridge.

Now, Betty Ann enjoys living near two of their children and sharing vacations and celebrations at resorts in New England. Being with her 10 grandchildren and one great-grandson give her the most happy times. She finds Waterstone to be very well run, with activities, support, meals, and caring staff. She has been meeting new folks but was surprised when she met, for the first time, classmate Art Boland, MD ’61, and his wife. They moved into Waterstone the same day!

What about Jo Field Bleakley? More about her journey can be found in our September / October 2025 Class Notes column.

Fascinating information was sent to us by Gonzalo Ferrer-Rincon (we knew him on campus as Gonzalo Ferrer). After earning his degree in civil engineering in 1958, he returned home to Puerto Rico. In our 25th Reunion yearbook, he noted that he and his wife had five children ranging from a first grader to three in college. After 17 years working for the largest home-building company in Puerto Rico, he was introduced to the field of real estate appraisal. That then became his lifelong career and one in which he became a leader.

With Gonzalo’s grandson now enrolled in AAP in the Class of 2029, this proud grandfather shared his family’s 80-year tradition at Cornell. The tradition began with his cousin Hilday Aboy-Ferrer ’36, who continued her studies in Puerto Rico and became one of the first woman doctors there. She was followed by Gonzalo’s older brother, Miguel ’38, then by brother Alberto ’40, JD ’43. Gonzalo notes that currently there are 12 family members who have graduated from Cornell.

His nephew, Miguel Ferrer ’59, MBA ’61, was actually born in Ithaca in 1938 during his father’s last year studying architecture; he later became a trustee of our University. Gonzalo himself became a lifetime member of the University Council. His many years of service on the council led to a very special experience for him: the close relationship he held with Frank and Rosa Rhodes. He said that connection began in the early days of the Cornell Club of Puerto Rico. Gonzalo’s pride and joy in his family, in Cornell, and in the synergy created by that combination just jumped off the printed page. ❖ Connie Santagato Hosterman (email Connie) | Alumni Directory.

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1958

We have a note from Clarence “Larry” LaBonte Jr., reminiscing about a time with Dave Dunlop ’59 from football practice back in the ’50s. Dave passed away in February 2023, but something brought this to Larry’s mind and here’s what he wrote, a Big Red memory:

“Although I was in the Class of ’58, Dave Dunlop was a football teammate. Back in the day during pre-season, the team was housed in a former TB sanatorium ‘out on the lake.’ There was little or no privacy. Cots were set up in large rooms, much like in a military barracks. ‘Privacy’ was a word in the dictionary. After all, we were supposedly bonding into a ‘team.’

“Dave was a quiet sort of fellow. He never became boisterous or obnoxious. One day I passed Dave sitting on his cot carving something on a piece of wood. Curious, I sat with him and asked what he was up to. It turns out that he was working on a cross. Dave was a religious man, comfortable in his faith, who quietly lived his Christian values. As a person of different belief and action, I could not help but admire this quiet, unassuming man carving a cross amidst a group of macho manly men conversing in locker-room talk laced with profanity. Yes, Dave was a man of true character who served Cornell well from his first day on campus. Hale and farewell, teammate and friend.”

Larry still resides in Lexington, MA, and has a granddaughter graduating in May. He writes, “I’m trying to convince myself that I can make it. I would love to see Ithaca one more time. And, oh yes, walk over the Suspension Bridge one more time.” Thanks for your note, Larry, and we hope you make it back to campus many more times.

After 19 years, Don Shardlow ’58 returned to Cornell as the manager of the New York Seed Improvement Project, and became the executive director of the Cornell Vegetable Breeding Institute.

A note from Don Shardlow brings us up-to-date. He tells of being a transfer student from Alfred State College and entering CALS as a junior. That year, he resided at Algonquin Lodge on Stewart Ave. He would enjoy hearing from anyone who lived there at that time. He and wife Alice live in Trumansburg, NY. He truly feels blessed with his family of three children, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

As many us do, Don drives only locally. He says he walks with a cane, is active in his church, and feels fortunate to have wonderful friends and neighbors. After graduating from Cornell, he was an assistant county agricultural agent for four years, then he was there for a year as the associate agent. He followed that by being in a partnership on a farm in Elba. After 19 years, Don returned to Cornell as the manager of the New York Seed Improvement Project, and became the executive director of the Cornell Vegetable Breeding Institute. In retirement, for the past 10 years, their vacations have been spent on Cape Cod and in Scottsdale, AZ, where their oldest daughter now lives.

Classmates, do you have other Big Red memories you’d like to share? Send them in, as Larry did, and we’ll get them out for all to enjoy. Your news and any updates are always most welcome too. Cheers for now. ❖ Dick Haggard (email Dick) | Barbara Avery, MA ’59 (email Barbara) | Alumni Directory.

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1959

In the Ithaca area between now and August 16? Be sure to visit the Johnson Museum of Art to see “Quilted Stories: American Quilts from the Permanent Collection.” A 2025 donation by Peggy Flynn Dunlop, MS ’63, of two quilts spurred the museum’s decision to put on this exhibit of historical and contemporary works that highlight the significance of textiles as an avenue for personal creativity and identity.

A community quilt was created in conjunction with the exhibition; it is on display and will become part of the museum’s collection. “Each quilter donated a square block depicting something about Tompkins County for a 64-block quilt celebrating the 250th anniversary of the founding of our country,” says Peggy. She made a block with a sailboat on Cayuga Lake since her late husband, Dave Dunlop, loved to sail his boat there.

Over the years, Rolf Barth, professor in the Department of Pathology at Ohio State, has published many, many papers. But it’s his latest paper that’s “the most read of any medical article that I have ever written.” Published in April in Lakartidningen, the leading biweekly Swedish medical journal, this paper discussed the gender, sexuality, and health of Queen Kristina, the most famous Swedish monarch, born 400 years ago in 1626.

“Questions about these matters abounded throughout Kristina’s lifetime and even more intensely after her death, right up to the present day,” Rolf noted. “It should be emphasized that most of the available information is largely speculative and based on dubious observations, a historical autopsy report, anthropological investigations, and psychological interpretations.” Rolf believes that the immediate cause of Kristina’s death was sepsis related to a bacterial infection that caused a reddish skin ulcer that regularly appeared on her right leg.

A busy life often focused on travel and music: Since we last heard from Al Newhouse, he took a cruise from Nashville down the Cumberland River to Paducah, KY, and up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga—“very comfortable, with highlights including the National Quilt Museum, the Shiloh battlefield, and a concert at the Grand Ole Opry.” Then last December, he traveled to San Antonio and its famed Alamo and River Walk as part of a Road Scholar program.

Bob Weinman ’59 spent his career as a rocket scientist, but his great love since infancy has been opera. ‘’Tis said that my very first words were la donna è mobile,’ says Bob.

Locally in Southern Maryland, Al presented his original orchestral works to an appreciative audience in 2024; this was followed in 2025 with a presentation of his choral compositions. Plus, there were numerous COSMIC Symphony concerts; Al has been playing viola and violin in this classical music orchestra for the past 25 years. And let’s add acting to the man’s many talents: last November he played an obnoxious lawyer for a murder mystery dinner (“I was cheered when I died!”).

Bob Weinman spent his career as a rocket scientist, but his great love since infancy has been opera. “’Tis said that my very first words were la donna è mobile,” says Bob. “I saw my first live opera at age 10, at the old Metropolitan Opera on West 39th Street. I still have the program from that day—and remember how in following years I looked with envy at the folks sitting in the orchestra’s $6 seats while I sat high in $2 seats.”

In 2004, Bob started a new career as a supernumerary at Opera Santa Barbara, appearing in such diverse roles as sailor, henchman, guard, and waiter. Since then, he’s worked diligently and enthusiastically at the company as well as at other music organizations in the area. He creates preview videos for the Opera Santa Barbara and has given lectures on opera across the U.S. and internationally. He is deputy chair at the opera and on the boards of Music Academy of the West and the Santa Barbara Symphony. It’s little surprise that he was the honoree at Opera Santa Barbara’s Moonlight Masquerade Gala in March, with the company noting that he’s “a true champion of the arts whose generosity and vision have shaped nearly every cultural institution in Santa Barbara” and “an undeniable style icon.”

Recently, I spent a lovely day at the renovated and expanded Frick Collection in New York City with Linda Rogers Cohen and Ellie Applewhaite. Linda, her daughter Carrie Cohen Lipsey ’89, and Carrie’s two younger sons had just returned from Northern Spain. “Great art in Madrid; fascinating architecture in Bilbao; the spectacular aqueduct in Segovia; good food everywhere,” reports Linda. Ellie, a born ‘n’ bred NYer with no yen to travel, sits on three not-for-profit boards (in addition to her co-op board), which are in the civil rights, dance, and healthcare fields.

Like Linda, I did some traveling this past year, both within the U.S. and overseas. The highlight was a month-long cruise to the Amazon. Most memorable: the river itself. I was stunned by its width and color; instead of blueish waters, the Amazon River resembles café au lait—not surprising since every day it pours an estimated 1.3 million tons of sediment into the Atlantic Ocean! ❖ Jenny Tesar (email Jenny) | Alumni Directory.

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1960s

1960

Calling all members of the Class of ’60! Your classmates are curious: What are you reading, building, growing, teaching, exploring, or celebrating these days? Class Notes are always better when more voices join in. ❖ Class of 1960 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1961

By the time you read this, our 65th Reunion will be another fond memory of our time on the Hill. After a 10-year gap, the event carries even more significance. Before you forget your memories, take the time to write a brief email about an event or meeting and send them to me. We can share these moments with all our classmates, not only those lucky enough to attend in person.

Our supply of Class Notes news is limited. Gail Kweller Ripans writes from Atlanta, “My son Jon ’89 is with the Ripans Law Firm and has two children, Hannah and Max. My daughter Holly ’94’s son Matthew will attend the SC Johnson College of Business, making it three generations of Cornellians in my family. I cannot attend our 65th Reunion, as my granddaughter Caroline is getting married in Boston in June. I live at Lenbrook, a senior community.”

And Eleanor Rubin Charwat shares, “Memories of Cornell: night editor and reporter on the Daily Sun; auditing Vladimir Nabokov’s literature class; studying Russian for three years; and meeting students from all over the world. I enjoy retirement with my husband, Martin, of 60 years, travel, family (including two children and eight grandchildren), jigsaw puzzles, book groups, community volunteer work, and political engagement.”

Eleanor adds, “Reporting for the Sun led to my first job as an information officer with President Kennedy’s Committee on Juvenile Delinquency in Washington. Studying international relations led to four years in Brazil, international travel, and volunteer work.”

Our abbreviated column ends at this point. We need your news, and our Reunion will hopefully give you a wealth of material. ❖ Doug Fuss (email Doug) | Alumni Directory.

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1962

Save the date: 65th Reunion, June 10–13, 2027!

Linda Himot brings us up to date with her most recent missive: “I attended the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and, after an internship at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, I did my residency in psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh Western Psychiatric Institute. Following this I remained on the faculty there for a few years, then spent six years in Ankara, Turkey, where I taught in the medical school and had a small practice serving military personnel and their families. I returned to private practice in Pittsburgh and was adjunct professor at Pitt med school. After retiring I moved first to Charlottesville, VA, then Tallahassee, FL, where I currently live.

“I began my writing career in 2005. I have published in poetry journals and have two poetry books that are available on Amazon: Family Fables and Sliding South. I have also written four storybooks for children about dogs (also available on Amazon): RC & Moon Pie in ‘Friends Forever,’ RC & Moon Pie in the Mouse’s Tale, RC & Moon Pie & Great Aunt Dora, and RC & Moon Pie Meet the Cat.

“I am currently contemplating publishing another poetry book. I also spend my time gardening (a year-round event here in the South), playing the piano, and raising another (my fifth) golden retriever puppy. One of the advantages to living a long life is having the chance to do many different things. But I must confess that I expect this puppy, now six months old, will most likely be my last, so I spend lot of time enjoying his discovery of the world around him.

“This is a recent poem (one of many I have written since retiring from medical practice) from January 2026, called ‘Ineluctable,’ which about describes my current state of mind and body:

‘In my youth I drove hell-bent for leather.
Leadfoot was my middle name.
Always on the lookout for cop cars and speed traps,
I believed myself invincible.
Then something happened
I don’t know what or when.
It changed my style of driving,
made me a wimp, a wuss and worse.
Now behind the wheel, hands ten and two,
I drive below the speed limit
and only in the right-hand lane,
never passing, impatient or honking on the horn.
I’m no longer first when a light turns green,
hang back a moment, to be sure
no hotshot trying to beat the red light
hits me sideways, explodes my air bags.
Okay, I confess the truth is ineluctable;
my hair is white my face all wrinkles
and my eyeglasses bifocal.
But I’ve, so far, survived both my hips intact
still driving, even if it’s in the slow lane.’”

From Jacqueline Browne Bugnion: “After earning my BA in economics from Cornell in 1962, I received an MBA with distinction at Harvard Business School in 1964. I then worked a year in New York for McKinsey before marrying my Swiss husband, Jean-Robert, whom I had met at HBS. I have lived in Switzerland ever since. Both of our children earned PhDs in the U.S., our son Edouard from Stanford in computer science and our daughter Véronique from MIT in physics of the environment. I am very proud that our granddaughter Annabelle Ulak will start her university career at Cornell this fall, 2026, in the Arts and Sciences college. Our two grandsons, Victor and Adrien, are near completion of their university studies at the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland.

To keep busy in our retirement, my husband and I created a foundation in Switzerland to promote education and reforestation in developing nations.

Jacqueline Browne Bugnion ’62

“To keep busy in our retirement, my husband and I created a foundation in Switzerland, La Fondation de Mire-Mont, some seven years ago to promote education and reforestation in developing nations. We sponsor an educational program for studying English and introduction to computers in Kirghizistan in Central Asia, but our main focus is in Burkina Faso, allowing a private agricultural school to expand its program and infrastructure. As the school is in the Sahel region, we encouraged the creation of a local NGO to initiate a pilot project for reforestation in a neighboring village within the framework of a program called the 10% Project that aims over the long term to reforest 10% of Burkina Faso’s share of the Great Green Wall, the trans-African project to stop the southern progression of the Sahara.

“By 2027, more than 15,000 seedlings of indigenous berry and nut-bearing trees will have been transplanted over three years on one square kilometer of the village’s designated forest area. This is the result of training programs provided by the agricultural school and infrastructure investments in the village, including a well with a reservoir and a water distribution system, a fenced-in tree nursery, and a vegetable garden, as well as a fenced-in pasture area. The new forest will enhance the food supply and provide additional revenue to the villagers, but will also enrich the soil, improve the local climate, and sequester carbon dioxide. As 80% of Burkinabé livelihoods come from agriculture, our hope is that the successful pilot project will encourage others to expand the concept to neighboring villages.”

Jacqueline adds, “My greatest satisfaction is following the terrific professional careers of our two children and observing the enthusiasm and success of our grandchildren as they pursue their studies. Hopefully, my husband and I will be able to join you at our 65th Reunion in June 2027.”

In March, Gary Caplan (Cheshire, CT) returned to France for the first time in a quarter-century, this time with his wife, Susan Schapiro Caplan ’79. “We spent three days in Paris and a week in a village near Pau, in the Pyrenees, where Susan attended an Urban Sketchers workshop, and I was a hanger-on, enjoying the scenery and food. Contrary to their reputation and despite the Iran War, we found all the French people we encountered warm and welcoming, save one person.”

Michael “Mickey” Miller (Allentown, PA) writes that in April he attended “a fantastic CAU New York City theater weekend. The camaraderie with 35 other participants, including my three daughters and Prof. Sara Warner, was priceless. As is traditional, we saw three shows and had spirited discussions before and after each show. We stayed at the Cornell Club and very much enjoyed their hospitality. The cherry on the top was having the class sing happy birthday to me in honor of my 85th birthday and presenting me with a gift of a Cornell bottle of wine.”

My husband, Bruce Rich ’60, and I were in London in April to celebrate the wedding of our daughter, Stacey ’93, to her longtime British beau. Everything was perfect. From the dinner the night before to the morning ceremony to the breakfast afterwards, it was pure delight. Even the London weather cooperated—warm and sunny. It was a small gathering held at the lovely Chelsea Old Town Hall in a room filled with love and joy for this pair who were finally making it official. The bride’s proud parents were beaming from ear to ear.

After a long and distinguished career teaching political science at Cornell and later at Queens College, CUNY, Professor Andrew Hacker, a Class of 1962 favorite, passed away at age 96 on April 21, 2026. “A Letter to the Class of 1962,” a paean to our class written by Andrew, appeared in our 50th Reunion Yearbook (pg. 12).

Save the date: 65th Reunion, June 10–13, 2027!

Take a moment, please, to send along news and updates of what’s happening with you and your family. And check out Classmate News on our class website for timelier information. Send your entries to: ❖ Judy Prenske Rich (email Judy) | Alumni Directory.

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1963

“Greetings, classmates, from your class president, Paula Trested Laholt. I am hoping you live in a region of the U.S. or internationally where you experienced a warm spring. Perhaps we are overjubilant here in the Northeast because of the unexpected and harsh winter we experienced. As we move into summer, I hope to have a more communicative season to keep you informed of University and class issues.

“Our next Reunion, our 65th, will be in June 2028. It may seem far in the distance as I write this in April 2026, but time never seems to slow down. If you have ideas for making this a spectacular and memorable series of events for our class, please feel free to contact me or anyone on our class council. And, need I say, volunteers are always needed and welcomed. In the meantime, be sure Cornell has your current contact information so you can be ‘in the know’ regarding something that piques your interest.”

Congratulations to classmate Marty Lustig, BEE ’65, who was named one of the recipients of the Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award. He has devoted a lot of his time to the Cornell Club of Mid-America in Kansas.

Harvey Rothschild wrote, “I’ve started my 53rd (?) tax season. So much for retirement. When I weeded out my file cabinet last week I ended up with some five bankers boxes of old files (to keep for seven years). Daughter Wendy ’86 and I went to the opera Sunday to see Fellow Travelers. It’s about gay love and betrayal between federal employees in D.C. during the Lavender Scare/McCarthy Era. If it comes to an opera company near you, it is worth seeing.”

Harvey adds, “Otherwise, things chug along. Two of my grandsons share an apartment across the lake in Seattle, so I get to see them once in a while. One of my sons is still living outside of Boston, and the other is with his wife and my other grandson in Vienna, where she is currently stationed with the U.S. Foreign Service.”

Carol Lowy Roberts writes, “My dear Ed died three years ago from Alzheimer’s. I adored him to his last day and miss him so. We moved to Charlottesville, VA, 30 years ago and, were it not for our three children and grandchildren living in New York City and Vermont, I would say it was an excellent choice.

“Even though Ed and I downsized from our 200-year-old house on 50 acres, I still live in too big a house with too much room for all my stuff. I promise every day I am going to weed out a closet, but that promise goes unfulfilled. My daughter and granddaughter are coming for a visit, and I am going have them blindfold me while they pitch.

Our classmates have kept the story of ‘The Great Cricket Caper of 1964’ under wraps for 62 years. Now—well into our 80s—we feel confident that the statute of limitations has expired.

Alan Chimacoff ’62, BArch ’64

“I have a fine group of friends here and play bridge. I am a member of the Garden Club of America, get some exercise, and entertain occasionally. I am now ultimately responsible for things financial and legal, and so I stay in close touch with my financial advisor, CPA, and lawyer!

“In the summer I am in the dirt, gardening on my small bit of land, and I love it. I have twin (a boy and a girl) grandchildren at Duke, another graduating from Exeter and experiencing the anxieties of hearing from colleges, and a 13-year-old who just enjoys life!”

Alan Chimacoff, BArch ’64, writes, “I am writing on behalf of the architecture Class of 1964—we entered with the Class of 1963, but our program was five years long. Our class group continues a vigorous email correspondence. Our classmates have kept the story of ‘The Great Cricket Caper of 1964’ under wraps for 62 years—a world-class prank worthy of historic Cornell prankster Hugh Troy 1926. And now—well into our 80s—we feel confident that the statute of limitations has expired and that we are all safe from retribution.”

I have included a few introductory sentences here; if you would like to read the whole fun story, write to Class Notes editor Alexandra Bond ’12 (email Alex) to obtain the PDF.

“For 125 years, first-year architecture students have created and paraded their dragons on and sometimes off campus. These aren’t little toy dragons, nor flimsy, airy kites made of painted paper. The dragon heads are large, often requiring two or three to carry them at the head of a long-trailing dragon body beneath which are an entire class of 60 or more students, snaking wildly around, sometimes even engaging in a bit of mischief or causing minor mayhem along the way.

“Searching for ideas, none captured our attention until (as our best memory recalled) Tom Beeby (later of Chicago Public Library fame and notoriety) suggested crickets, and the thought of drafting rooms full of architecture students drawing at 3 a.m. to orchestrations of chirping crickets was just too compelling to pass up. We would obtain large quantities of crickets—and dump them into the architecture schools of the Northeast. What could be more compelling than that? The idea took hold, and the process began!”

I am hoping that after you read this column, you will take time to write me and update us with what is going on in your lives. ❖ Nancy Bierds Icke (email Nancy) | Alumni Directory.

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No submissions for this column this round—consider this your friendly reminder that classmates enjoy hearing everyday updates just as much as major milestones. So, what have you been up to lately? ❖ Class of 1964 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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Elaine Sarkin Jaffe, MD ’69 (Great Falls, VA) is still working at the National Cancer Institute. Last year, her oldest granddaughter graduated from med school at Northwestern and Elaine was pleased to “hood” the graduate as part of the ceremonies. Elaine also recently enjoyed a vacation in New Zealand.

Raphael Nevins relates that he and spouse Lorna continue to enjoy living in New Mexico (which he reminds us is known as the Land of Enchantment, and which he asserts is the only state in the U.S. that provides universal childcare no matter one’s income). He remains addicted to reading the New York Times, New Yorker, and New York Magazine. He was particularly interested when he read a recent Grub Street post in New York Magazine, where there was some commentary about the famed Zabar’s food market on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

This led Raphael to send in a reminiscence about a December 31, 1965, New Year’s Eve party at the Zabar family apartment on the Upper West Side, including a group of new or prospective college graduates; his friend Eli Zabar went to Hobart, while Cornell guests included Raphael and future NYC judge Roger Hayes. Raphael remembers being treated to a variety of delicacies, including a large tray of beluga caviar, courtesy of Zabar’s market, and engaging in merriment that included a food fight. Raphael explains that Eli Zabar’s parents were not home when all this took place.

We of the Class of 1965 extend congratulations and the very best wishes for a successful, peaceful, and contented future, to the newly graduated Class of 2026.

Lastly, we would reiterate the words of class president Jamil Sopher, ME ’66, in a recent email to classmates: “Our class has strengthened its legacy of caring for Cornell students by establishing the Class of 1965 Student Mental Health Fund. This fund launched an important new initiative with Cornell Health, providing wellness coaches to support students through challenges and help them build resilience. One of our key Reunion goals was to raise $250,000 for this fund—and I’m thrilled to share that we surpassed that goal by nearly $100,000! Heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed. The fund will remain active for the foreseeable future, and additional gifts are always welcome.”

Please keep the news coming to us. People love to hear about your doings, via our column. ❖ Stephen Appell (email Stephen) | Joan Hens Johnson (email Joan) | Alumni Directory.

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I hope all of you who attended Reunion had a great time. We will have more details in the next column.

Nancy Decker Stephenson is a retired dietitian and an office assistant in her husband’s veterinary practice. Her civic activities include the DAR, children’s church ministries, music ministries, being a deaconess, book clubs, and Bible studies. She also finds time to learn through Smithsonian Associates, YouTube, and reading. Nancy says she never thought she would be living near the ocean or traveling to Europe to visit family. Her other travels have included Japan, China, Norway, the Netherlands, Eastern Europe, Italy, Norway, Nova Scotia, Greece, and France. She gets together with 23 family members each year and also attends her grandchildren’s sports activities.

Denver, CO, is home to Christie Grigsby Murata. She is delighted with her position as a grandmother. She enjoys being part of Denver projects involving architecture and preservation. Christie enjoys life and treasured friends. She plays golf and admits she is not a great player but has fun. Her daughter and family live in Denver. Her son and family live in Los Angeles, and she loves visiting. Her activities include laughing and doing jigsaw puzzles with the family via computer links.

Richard Turbin is still practicing plaintiff’s personal injury law with the firm he founded, Turbin Chu Heidt. He was elected president of the Hawaii State Bar Association and chair of the American Bar Association’s tort and insurance practice section, and he was chosen as a distinguished alumnus of Harvard Law School. Richard also served as chair of the board of governors of the East-West Center, a diplomatic and educational institute closely tied to the U.S. He plays tennis and enjoys skiing and working out and has taken some assorted cruise vacations.

Richard never imagined living in Hawaii and becoming, as he says, a “child of the Pacific.” He was a Peace Corps lawyer in Samoa and visited French Polynesia, Fiji, and all the Hawaiian Islands. Richard has two children and two grandsons. His daughter is a college professor in Texas and won an award for her documentary at the Hawaii International Film Festival. His son is chair of the Hawaii Democratic Party and serves on the board of the DNC.

Lee Lindquist recently retired from practicing medicine in Boise, ID, something he never thought he would do. He volunteers with the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association. He also helps his daughter train her Weimaraner dogs to go bird hunting. Lee volunteers at the Boise Bicycle Project, restoring bicycles to donate to children. Lee and wife Joanie (Buchsbaum) ’68 biked along the West Coast of Norway in June ’25, seeing amazing scenery. He spent his birthday in Stockholm, Sweden, home of his ancestors. They also enjoy skiing, hiking, and biking with the family.

Steven Krich ’66, PhD ’72, never imagined he would cycle 1,000 miles a year to work, 40,000 miles over the course of his career!

Lee and Joanie sadly report the passing of ’66 classmate F. Paul Esposito, who was the best man at their wedding. Paul passed away in December 2024; he was diagnosed with ALS the previous February. As his wife shared, he was professor emeritus of physics at the University of Cincinnati. Paul entered Cornell to study classics; soon deciding his talents lay elsewhere, he switched to physics, although classics remained a lifelong passion. He earned his PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Chicago, specializing in general relativity. His insatiable appetite for knowledge and books led him to build an enormous home library, constantly exploring and teaching himself new topics in physics and mathematics. Opera, classical music, jazz, and travel—as well as family and friends—filled his life.

Steven Krich, PhD ’72, reports from Cambridge, MA, that he is enjoying retirement from MIT, but he still keeps a bit involved. He now has more time for reading, cycling, and enjoying grandchildren. He never imagined he would cycle 1,000 miles a year to work, 40,000 miles over the course of his career! He did not even have a bike at Cornell. Recent travel was cycling the Baltic Coast from Poland to Estonia. The Krich family, including their daughter-in-law’s parents, spent a week in Canada, an annual trip.

Linda Cascio Engstrom reports from Oregon that she has retired from teaching landscape design at Portland Community College. She has designed many gardens in the Portland area. The Engstroms still maintain a seven-acre pinot gris grape vineyard at 1,000-ft. elevation just southwest of Portland. Recent travel was to visit family and friends in Florida and New England. Linda enjoys gardening, bike riding, travel, and photography.

A note from Alice Katz Berglas, Jeanne Brown Sander, and Mary Jansen Everett, 60th Reunion and networking chairs—and from the ’66 class officers: “As we write this note, it is mid-May of our 60th Reunion year: stacks of Post-its are on our desks; boxes to ship to campus for a four-day June weekend are by our front doors; your emails are in our inboxes inquiring about Reunion specifics. We are smiling as we watch your Reunion registrations come in, and, of course, we have no clue about your favorite question: ‘What will the weather be in Ithaca in June?’

“It will take until the next column to share all the facts, funny stories, Cornell happenings, and special moments that will have defined our 60th Reunion milestone and the time many of us spent together. We can assure you that your spirit—whether on campus, or near, or from ‘far afar’—infused it all. As we write too: a new Cornell year will soon begin! New freshmen finding their way, ‘old’ seniors beginning their final undergraduate year. Sophomores and juniors feeling and finding their oats, forging new paths up the Hill in new ways, their way.

“And: the same is true for us! A new Cornell year—a new Class of 1966 year. Keep joining us along our newest way. (Yes, pay class dues—we will reach out soon. And do share news! Both are how we keep in touch.) Most continue to be a part of the ‘’66 conversation’ (John Monroe, PhD ’70’s ongoing invitation). Like the ‘Reunion Committee Members and Teams and Attendees’ whom we thank here one more time, it takes all of us—every year, and very proudly still—to be the Cornell Class of 1966. For now, have a great summer; we will connect again in fall!” ❖ Susan Rockford Bittker (email Susan) | Pete Salinger, MBA ’68 (email Pete) | Alumni Directory.

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David Darwin, MS ’68 (Lawrence, KS), who’s served as our Reunion chair several times and will perform that duty again next year, reports: “In June 2023, I stepped down after a rewarding 10 years as chair of the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering (CEAE) at the University of Kansas (KU). The department advisory board elected me to the CEAE Academy (outstanding alumni and retired faculty), a special honor because I was the first active-duty faculty member to be elected. The academy committee may have just been worried that I would never retire!

“I was honored in May 2024 for 50 years as a KU faculty member. The department put on a reception following the university ceremony that included former students, some of whom I had not seen for decades. In July, Cinda Garrison and I got married in the rural Alabama church where my parents were married in 1945. Nowadays, they only open the church once a year for ‘homecoming.’ Cinda and I have been sweethearts since 2020 (yes, since COVID).

“In April 2025, I was honored at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, where the Governor recognized 40- and 50-year state employees. And in May 2025, I received the Distinguished Engineering Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the KU School of Engineering to alumni and faculty. Once again, I was the first active-duty faculty member to receive this award. I’m now in year 52 at KU and remain active in teaching and research. I’m looking forward to our 60th in June 2027. Hope to see lots of our classmates!”

Toby Tucker Hecht (Bethesda, MD) is “still adjusting to the new reality as a federal government employee at the National Cancer Institute, where I work as the deputy director of the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. Many of my colleagues have retired, left, or been fired. But I am sticking around to help stabilize things and continue our mission to foster cutting-edge research for the benefit of cancer patients. My family and friends are my source of strength these days. And my fiction writing over many years has allowed me to understand the reasons humans behave the way they do. I have a Substack, where I post stories and flash fiction each month.” Check it out.

Ronald Childress (Winnabow, NC) formerly of Columbia, SC, passed away on July 17, 2025. A government major at Cornell, he later earned MA and PhD degrees in political philosophy at Harvard. Ron was one of Cornell’s most formidable debaters. He led the Cornell Debating Society; I recall him eloquently defending the role of debate before a student government finance commission skeptical of its significance in the 1960s and, with Mitchel Ross, how he handily matched his shrewd way with words against two skilled English debaters from Cambridge.

I was honored in May 2024 for 50 years as a University of Kansas faculty member.

David Darwin ’67, MS ’68

Ron joined the Air Force as an intelligence officer during the Vietnam and Gulf wars. Between active-duty stints, he completed a law degree at the University of South Carolina, practiced in Columbia, SC, and became a Richland County attorney. After 32 years in the Air Force Reserve, he retired as a colonel.

Fluent in Russian and German, Ron was, according to his obituary, “recruited for several governmental projects focused on introducing Russians to the American economic and judicial systems. In 1993, his family accompanied him on a three-year tour in Moscow. He continued to work for the government in various capacities in Washington, DC, before serving as staff attorney at the U.S. District Court. Following retirement, he brought his knowledge of Russia and its legal system to the University of South Carolina Law School, where he taught a course on Russian law for two decades.”

Peter Buchsbaum (Stockton, NJ) reports, “In January our grandsons Reed and Leo celebrated their 3rd and 1st birthdays. Long wait for them, but they bring much joy. Elaine and I are still traveling, most recently on a Caribbean cruise topped off by a few days in Vieques off Puerto Rico. I’m still writing and speaking on exclusionary zoning, most recently at a conference in Atlanta.”

Edward Arenson (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) has produced a new book, Feathers in the Wind: A Cancer Doctor Discovers Birding and Rediscovers Himself. As Compass Rose Publishing notes: “When Dr. Edward Arenson took up birding during pediatrics training, he had no idea where it would lead. He began writing down his experiences and hoped the process would offer a greater understanding of his passion for birding and, in due course, himself.

“His ‘wild goose chases’ to seek new birds served as an adventurous respite from the challenging routines of a neuro-oncologist. The testimony of his many and diverse experiences as a birder ‘of limited skill but high motivation’ serves as an autobiography of sorts, representing a counterpoint to a life as physician, husband, and parent.”

After majoring in English literature and specializing in early American writing at Cornell, Edward attended medical school at Drexel University, specializing in childhood cancer. ❖ Richard Hoffman (email Richard) | Alumni Directory.

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More news to share with our classmates! We always need more news and updates from you, so please let us know where you are and what you are doing, or share your reflections on your years at Cornell!

David Weisbrod is thrilled that his third grandchild, Thomas Weisbrod, turns 1 in September. David and his wife, Margaret Simon ’66, have two additional grandchildren, Timmy, 10, and Wes, 8. They adore them all! David and Margaret have lived in Greenwich, CT, since 1985, where David recently was reelected for a fifth consecutive term to serve on the Greenwich finance board.

Before retiring, David spent 40 years at JP Morgan Chase and its predecessors, where he was vice chairman of risk. After retiring from Chase, David became the first chief executive officer of the U.S. subsidiary of LCH Clearnet Group, a global, multi-asset clearinghouse. While at Chase, David also served as a member of the New York Federal Reserve Bank’s Payments Risk Committee and a director of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. He later served as a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Global Markets Advisory Committee.

Margaret started her career as an architect and has focused more recently on painting, having studied art at the Silvermine Guild and the Art Students League, among others. She is a member of numerous art societies, including the Greenwich Art Society, the New Canaan Society for the Arts, and the Greenwich Arts Council and exhibits, and sells her work through Connecticut-based art societies, regional museums, specialized art shows, and online.

Kathy Riggs Van Wie and her husband, Bill, live in Houston, TX. Kathy continues to be active in two international nonprofits, Amistad Mission, which helps Bolivian children and families in need, and Faith in Practice, which provides medical care for people in Guatemala. She travels there with surgical teams and serves as a translator during such missions. Kathy writes that she is enjoying retirement and spending more time with grandchildren—the oldest started college this past year and the youngest finished kindergarten! She keeps up with two of her Cornell roommates, Lin Beck and Gail Griffiths Welch.

After graduation, Milton “Butch” Hilliard ’68, ME ’69, stayed at Cornell for a master’s and was named Richie Moran’s first assistant lacrosse coach!

Elliott Meisel continues to practice law as a solo practitioner, after closing his boutique law firm after 45 years! He says he enjoys “having no employees or overhead” and spending time with his daughter Sara ’02 and son-in-law Mike Tranter ’02 and their children, Ellie and Mia. Elliott is proud of his family’s four generations at Cornell spanning over 100 years! He also enjoys his work as chair of the Sagaponack Zoning Board of Appeals and, “of course, as a member of the Cornell University Library Advisory Council.”

Although Elliott writes that he now is “sans avion,” he is still active with the East Hampton Aviation Association. On a serious note, Elliot writes, “Though disheartened at the increasing attacks on and entropy of the institutions, values, and environment that sustained our class through what has to have been a pinnacle of human existence, I’m grateful for having enjoyed it and hopeful they will be resilient enough to arise phoenixlike to sustain those we love who follow.”

Milton “Butch” Hilliard, ME ’69, writes that after graduation, he stayed at Cornell for a master’s in electrical engineering and was named Richie Moran’s first assistant lacrosse coach! From there, he went to Westinghouse in Maryland as an engineer and “received a critical industry draft deferment.” He spent a total of 38 years at Westinghouse and later Northrop Grumman (after it acquired Westinghouse’s defense and electronic system’s division). He says, “One highlight was working on the Apollo 11/12/13 lunar cameras.”

Butch was honored to be elected in 1983 to the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame and later to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. On the Cornell Hall of Fame website, it says the following about Butch: “As a lacrosse goaltender, he was an All-Ivy and All-America first team selection in 1967 and 1968, after receiving All-America honorable mention in ’66. He figured prominently in Cornell’s three-year record of 35-1 and two Ivy League titles. In both 1967 and 1968 he was the recipient of the C.M. Kelly Jr. Memorial Award as the outstanding goaltender in Division I. In 1967 he also received the Sydney Cone Trophy for being the outstanding ‘senior’ goaltender—only the second junior in the history of the award to have out-won all seniors to get the award. He holds Cornell records for most saves in a career, the best goals against average in a season, and the best goals against average in a career. The team’s MVP in 1967, he was the Cornell Daily Sun Athlete of the Year as a senior.” Amazing!

Butch retired from engineering but started a second career teaching general and AP physics and helping with the lacrosse team at a small private high school. After 18 years as a teacher, he is currently only semi-retired, as he is helping out by training his replacement physics teacher. He is divorced, widowed, and re-married with three children, two stepchildren, and seven grandchildren, and lives in Westminster, MD. He would be happy to hear from any of our classmates who want to reconnect.

I look forward to receiving more news and updates from all of you! Please email me about you and your family with news you would like to share with our classmates. ❖ Steve Weinberg, MBA ’70, JD ’71 (email Steve) | Alumni Directory.

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Kenneth LaPensee from Warrington, PA, earned an MPH from Rutgers School of Public Health in epidemiology and a PhD from UConn in anthropology. He retired in 2022 and now enjoys writing fiction and memoirs. He spends time volunteering for community meeting groups and medical reserve corps. He and his wife, Patricia, have three grandchildren. He says the most impactful thing he learned at Cornell was how to focus on writing and research.

Larry Kerecman from Grand Junction, CO, says he stayed on campus for 10 years, working at the Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory and then for the Department of Languages and Linguistics. In 1975, he followed a dream to live in the West and moved to Colorado. He worked for three small family-owned tech companies for the first 25 years and then began his own consulting firm, which he ran for 22 years. Along with the usual projects to pay the bills, he says he is most proud of his work on the Christmas light show at the former Macy’s store in Philadelphia in the Wanamaker Building and the re-creation of a century-old high-tech fountain in Denver’s City Park.

Larry enjoys exploring the natural wonders of his region via a street-legal dirt bike and his Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. He is involved with the historical societies in the mining towns of Ouray and Silverton and is on the board of the Mesa County Historical Society. He’s visited Yellowstone National Park numerous times since childhood and plans a return in the fall for a class on the Yellowstone volcano.

Alan Cody of Waban, MA, says he gets the most satisfaction out of “volunteering for Cornell and local nonprofits, especially when I can add some value with experience from my career in consulting and financial advisory services. I also enjoy having the time to join with family members to celebrate important milestones in our lives.” Since retiring, he serves as a member of the board of the Cornell Association of Class Officers and helps write their newsletters. Alan notes that his fellow board members are a wonderful group of creative and motivated colleagues. They are especially looking forward to Cornell’s first-ever Volunteer Summit this coming October. He is also co-moderator of his church council, helping in particular with financial policies and fundraising.

Alan reports that he and his wife, Edith, had a very special time last summer joining extended family to celebrate his sister Alison’s 70th at a great party at the Salamander resort in Virginia. He and Edith also enjoyed a very scenic and interesting cruise of the New England coast and the Canadian Maritimes last summer. He is excited about the forthcoming release of his wife’s next book, Clarity Before Momentum: Executive Guidance for Realigning Your Next Career Chapter.

Alan adds, “Attending Cornell gave me the value that I have carried through my life—the pleasure and inspiration that comes from being with highly educated, intelligent people. I am especially grateful for the advice I received from Associate Dean F. Dana Payne in Arts and Sciences for suggesting I pursue an MBA at a school emphasizing quantitative business methods. It charted the path for my entire career.”

Laurine Haynes Sieminski reports that 50 years of quiltmaking and teaching have resulted in stacks of patchwork quilts around her home and studio in Washington, DC. A couple of years ago, Laurie started donating her work to nonprofit organizations that auction or raffle the quilts to raise much-needed funds. Two quilts go each year to historic gristmills in the Mid-Atlantic; others go to the Historic Farm Market in Lewes, DE, to Harbor House in Maine, and to a church choir in Santa Fe, NM.

“I have the fun of pulling together the fabrics and the design and many happy hours of sewing, then send them off to help a good cause,” says Laurie. One of her quilting buddies is former Cornell roommate Susan Kalin Basile, who picked up the needle after retiring after many years of teaching biology at the National Cathedral School.

The doctor at the Northwest Women’s Clinic who delivered our first granddaughter was Kelley Burkett ’03, a Cornellian herself.

John Rees ’69, MCE ’70

Laurie and husband Adam Sieminski, MPA ’71, recently had dinner with Roger Newill ’68, BArch ’69, MRP ’73, and his wife, Dorian, in Virginia Beach, where she works with the Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital Auxiliary—so a quilt went there for a fundraiser. Cornell connections spurred other donations: Steve La Rocca and his wife, Mary Ellen, are heavily involved with the North Salem (NY) Historical Society. Steve has written and illustrated a charming book about the town, which was settled more than 200 years ago by Mary Ellen’s family. After a chat at our 55th Reunion with Bruce Densmore and spouse Elle, Laurie sent two quilts to Seattle for their grandchild’s school auction.

Speaking of grandchildren, “Pat and I are grandparents at last,” says John Rees, MCE ’70. “Our daughter Ashley gave birth to granddaughter Hadley in April 2025. Is anyone else in our class joining the grandparents club this late in life? The doctor at the Northwest Women’s Clinic who delivered Hadley was Kelley Burkett ’03, a Cornellian herself. Greg Baum, Mike Brown, MCE ’70, and I continue to get together monthly for lunch in Portland to talk about civil engineering topics and life in general—and have been doing so for more than six years at a different restaurant every time.”

John exaggerates a little—sometimes they like a place enough to go back again. In March, Tim Oppelt, MS ’72, was able to join the usual threesome for lunch. Tim and his wife live in Cincinnati, but their daughter lives in Portland and teaches environmental science at an area high school, so they try to visit several times a year.

Everyone will likely be delighted to know that Jon Kaplan, MD ’74, and his wife, Linda, were in Fairbanks, AK, in March. Jon writes that it was their first time there and the trip was on Linda’s bucket list to see the northern lights. “We spent three nights in Fairbanks doing various things, and four nights at Borealis Basecamp, where we had spectacular views of the lights.” Per Jon, the Borealis Basecamp is some 25 miles northeast of Fairbanks, or about a 40-minute drive depending on how many moose are encountered along the way.

Jon adds, “It was a terrific trip, although a bit chilly; the temperature did not exceed zero in Fairbanks. We reached a balmy 7 °F one afternoon at the camp—a heat wave!” Jon took some pictures of the Aurora Borealis and the trans-Alaska pipeline that are spectacular.

On April 16, 2026, the Class of 1969 hosted a very well attended webinar with our classmate Seth Bramson as guest speaker. Seth’s topic was “The Greatest Railroad Story Ever Told,” a subject near and dear to his heart. Originally from New York, his family moved to Florida when he was a child and he has lived there ever since. After Cornell, Seth went on to get master’s degrees from St. Thomas University and Florida International University (FIU). He taught history for many years as an adjunct professor at Barry University, FIU, and Nova Southern University.

In addition to his academic duties, Seth was the official company historian for the Florida East Coast Railway (FECR), which led to the writing and publication of his book about the FECR titled Speedway to Sunshine. His love of the subject matter is evidenced by his massive collection of FECR, transportation, and Florida memorabilia, by far the largest such collection in private hands. Seth’s engaging and humorous presentation skills were on full display in his talk. For those of you who missed the original program or want to see it again, the recording is available here.

A reminder to everyone to please share what you have been doing for future Class Notes columns. ❖ Greg Baum (email Greg) | Alumni Directory.

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1970

We always need more news and updates from any and all of you, so please let us know where you are and what you are doing, or share your reflections on your years at Cornell. Normally, as each deadline approaches, my contact in Ithaca will send me whatever news they have received. As of late April (the time of this writing), I have nothing! It seems that, with the realignment of class dues with the beginning of the University’s fiscal year, there will be a few dry months until you receive news forms in the mail again. So if you have some interesting news, send it directly to me at my email below.

So, with a more regional look at things, Cornell alumni and students are alive and active near my home, the Greater Chicago area, and beyond.

My most recent Cornell-related experience was the opportunity to gather with a fair number of Cornellians from many classes at a nice restaurant in the north suburb of Kenilworth, IL (Great Coast Commons), to watch our Big Red men’s hockey team compete in the 2026 men’s hockey NCAA Tournament.

Those in the River North area in Chicago itself were gathered at Theory in River North. Unfortunately, the University of Denver, the ultimate winner of the NCAA championship (and a spoiler for us over the years), scored five times against our team, making our appearance in the event brief.

As I’m writing this in April, my next upcoming Big Red experience away from Ithaca is the CU Glee Club’s Great Lakes tour. It begins May 25 in Rochester, NY, then goes on to Cleveland, OH, Cincinnati, OH, Evanston, IL, and Ann Arbor, MI, and ends June 2 in Detroit, MI (just before Reunion!). Hoping those of you in the area have seen other timely announcements and will have been able to enjoy our Glee Club.

As always, you may contact me directly, or you may use the university’s standard form, the online news form. Please send something! ❖ John Cecilia, MBA ’79 (email John) | Alumni Directory.

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As I sit here writing this note, spring has finally arrived in the Northeast after a long, hard winter, and members of the Reunion committee are finalizing plans for what promises to be a spirited and nostalgic gathering of the classmates. By the time this note is published in the summer, Reunion 2026 will be an additional Cornell memory for us to cherish.

During Reunion weekend there are plans by friends of Steve Gorfine to dedicate an Arts Quad bench in his memory. If you are up visiting Cornell, find the bench, stop, rest awhile, enjoy the beauty of the quad, and remember Steve.

Steve Rappaport and his wife, Babs, continue to get exhilarated skiing on peaks in the Northeast and in the West. These days, the Rappaports’ enjoyment on the slopes is multiplied when they are joined by their two grandsons. After the fast pace of practicing criminal defense law for more than 40 years, Steve finds the idea of retirement challenging; he says he remains “in a state of transition between relevancy and whatever comes next.”

Donna Proopis Rukin calls Saddle River, NJ, home. After Cornell, Donna earned a PhD in psychology and maintained a private practice. She is now kept busy with three adult children and eight grandchildren. Donna and her husband, Barnett “Buzz” ’62, divide their time between New Jersey and Savannah, GA.

Retired physician Maria Yurasek just returned from a fantastic family journey to Japan, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Highlights of the trip included a night cruise on Halong Bay; visits to the beautiful, elegant, and inspiring Angkor Wat temple; tours of underground tunnels and torture chambers remaining from the Vietnam War; Hoi An shopping excursions; and many visits to pagodas and other temples. The most thrilling highlight of the trip was watching her daughter Christine achieve a PR (a runner’s fastest competition time) at the Tokyo Marathon. For Maria, “Life is pretty wonderful!”

Irene Smalls ’71 is preparing to deliver her first TEDx Talk.

Ken Deschere, now retired, lives in a big house on Ithaca’s South Hill, but looks forward to joining family members in the Boston suburbs (as soon as he cleans out “four floors of stuff!”). Ken feels blessed by a very bright granddaughter, soon to be joined by a sibling.

Caryn Furst and her husband, David Bromberg, have both retired—Caryn from her business as a communications consultant, and David from his technology business. They are now traveling at least once a quarter, sometimes to beachy relaxing vacations and other times to destinations on their bucket lists. In the past 18 months, they have visited South Africa, Mexico, Hawaii, Florida, Canada (an annual voyage, because David was born in Toronto), and Europe, as well as various Northeastern states. In May, Caryn and David visited Japan for three weeks. When they are home in Stamford, CT, Caryn is busy volunteering, becoming fluent (again) in French, and learning to speak Spanish.

Irene Smalls continues to expand her impact at the intersection of education, health, and innovation. She was named an international finalist for the Rosenthal Prize in Math Innovation and has appeared on national television, including on the “Tamron Hall Show” and “Sherri.” Irene is preparing to deliver her first TEDx Talk and recently became a certified child and adult sleep consultant. She also proudly self-published her first bedtime baby book, further advancing her work supporting families and early childhood development. Most recently, Irene co-hosted a fundraiser with fellow alumni for Wari House, raising $15,000 to support repairs and ongoing upkeep of this historic residence that was founded in 1968 by a group of Black women to create an atmosphere that promoted self-awareness and personal confidence.

On a personal note, this is my final column as class correspondent. Huge thank yous to all of our classmates who have so generously and openly shared their stories over the past five years, to my co-correspondent Elisabeth Kaplan Boas, who kindly “showed me the ropes” and helped me round up news tidbits for the column when our cupboard was bare, and to Alex Bond ’12, our unsung hero editor up at Cornell. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know some of you better through your submissions, renewing some old acquaintances, and enabling all of you to reconnect with our class. ❖ Cara Nash Iason (email Cara) | Elisabeth Kaplan Boas (email Elisabeth) | Alumni Directory.

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1972

Fellow classmates, this is Wes Schulz, ME ’73, your class correspondent who produces this column. Your input is appreciated.

Last winter Bill Trommer made his annual pilgrimage to Colorado to visit fraternity brother Gerry Roehm ’69, BS ’72, for a week of skiing the steep and not-so-deep near Aspen. Though snowfall was lacking in Colorado this past winter, Bill and Gerry enjoyed several days of excellent powder skiing at Snowmass following a rare (but welcome) March snowstorm. Bill took credit for bringing the weather with him from Maine.

Nancy Roistacher (our tireless and indefatigable Class of ’72 president) reports that our class treasury will be subsidizing our 55th Reunion, June 10–13, 2027, so it should be more affordable. We also plan to subsidize local events around the country as well, so more classmates can get together.

We are kicking off our pre-Reunion year with a weekend program at Mt. Vernon and Alexandria, VA, on September 25–26 in time to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. as well. We had a similar program in 2022. However, Mt. Vernon has undergone significant renovations since then. It now has a presidential library, a new museum, and upgrades to the house. There is new scholarship about the enslaved persons on the estate as well. Tours of the library, house, and agricultural gardens have been arranged, as well as a dinner on Friday night. It will be a full day of activities. The final programming for Saturday will likely include a visit to a local brewery to contrast with Washington’s distillery, a visit to the Woodlawn Pope-Leighey House, and opportunities to visit Old Town Alexandria.

More information, costs, and registration will be available as soon as the program is finalized. Please mark your calendars for September. If you plan on attending, please let Nancy know that you are coming (email Nancy).

Nancy encourages everyone to join in the planning and celebration of our 55th Reunion year. If anyone would like to organize a program or a casual get-together in their local region, please let her know. Funds and help are available. We have very interesting and talented classmates. Let Nancy know if you have an idea for an interesting topic for a webinar or expertise in a subject and would like to give a webinar.

Thank you to all who have written in. Keep the news coming! As always, you may contact me directly, or use the University’s standard online news form. ❖ Wes Schulz, ME ’73 (email Wes) | Alumni Directory.

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1973

Although I only received two news items for this column, I am certain you will agree that each represents very welcome news for any classmate:

Class of 1973 co-president Rich Saltz, MBA ’74, and wife Lynn (Rosenbluth) ’75 are proud grandparents again. Rich reports that Felix was born on April 1 “to son Ted Saltz ’12 and Aly Stein ’13. Everyone is doing well. Ted, Aly, and Felix live in Cambridge, MA.” Felix is their first child and the third grandchild for Rich and Lynn. Grandpa (a.k.a. “Chief”) has him down for the Cornell Class of 2048. I count four different Big Red classes represented here so far.

On seeing Rich’s happy news, fellow class correspondent Phyllis Haight Grumman wrote that she and spouse Dave have become grandparents for the first time. Their granddaughter Grace was born on March 22 to daughter Anna and her husband, Hunt Allcott. Both Anna and Hunt are on the faculty of Stanford University and live in Stanford, CA. I wonder if Phyllis has picked her “grandmother” name yet.

By the time this column is published, I will have returned from our second June visit to the charming city of Stratford, Ontario, for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival with fellow supporters of our beloved Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. We will be attending seven plays in four days! This year, I have expanded our itinerary with multiple overnight stops to and from Canada, including husband Gerry’s very first visit to Niagara Falls. How is that possible for any Pennsylvania native?

What is going on with you, our dear faithful readers? Volunteer activities, nonprofit leadership, residential downsizing, wintering in warmer climes, travel to where? Please keep us posted. Send news to: ❖ Pam Meyers (email Pam) | Dave Ross (email Dave) | Phyllis Haight Grummon (email Phyllis) | Alumni Directory.

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1974

Betsy Beach is staying active playing tennis and pickleball and going on bike trips. Over the past three years, she has done four trips with Vermont Bicycle Tours (Mallorca, Tuscany, South Africa, and Croatia) and will be biking in Greece in September 2026 and New Zealand in January 2027. (Editor’s note: My wife and I do the same type of trips and they are a lot of fun! It’s a great way to visit the small towns in between the major cities and sites tourists normally go to and get a better feel for the personality of the country.)

Fun fact: Ithaca topped CNN Travel’s 2025 list of “Best Towns in America.” You can read more here.

Nancy Geiselmann Hamill is retired and keeping busy occasionally as a substitute judge, helping lead a Bible study group, visiting shut-ins, exercising (“a lot”), and traveling (“sometimes”). Favorite memories: Chimes at sunset, long trips with the ski team, and working at Helen Newman.

Ronald Pies recently published The 36 Virtues of the Talmudic Sages, a book on rabbinic ethics. He is currently professor emeritus of psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University (Syracuse) and Tufts University School of Medicine (Boston). Retired from clinical practice in psychiatry, he now teaches the philosophy of psychiatry “and related esoteric stuff!”

Randee Mia Berman also has a new book out, called Life Lessons From My Mom: The Jewish Dalai Lama. In it, she pays tribute to her mother, Anna Orenbach Berman, a chic, sharp, endlessly quotable Brooklyn woman whose everyday sayings became a blueprint for living. What would have been her mother’s 100th birthday was approaching, and Randee says she wanted to do something special to honor her. She calls it a master class in approaching life with humor, logic, and passion. (Editor’s note: Gets great reviews! I bought one.) ❖ Perry Jacobs (email Perry) | Linda Meyers Geyer (email Linda) | Betsy Moore (email Betsy) | Alumni Directory.

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1975

Mike Tannenbaum here. This is my first class column in many years; I agreed to return to correspondent duties after a long hiatus because of the great time I had at our 50th Reunion last June! For those who don’t know me, some details are available in the digital Class of 1975 Reunion Book (still available for your viewing pleasure here). It features nearly 600 classmates (among the approximately 3,600+ currently living 1975 graduates). You also might visit our Facebook page for current class news.

Wayne Henderson and George Murphy were among 10 chemical engineers attending our 50th Reunion. The chemical and biomolecular engineering graduates currently number 50–70 per class, but ours numbered just 33—so this was a great turnout for our 50th! Several of us had Friday dinner at the Heights, generously hosted by Peter Wright, MBA ’76. Attendees raised their glasses to—and greatly miss—our late classmate Carl Marhaver, who never failed to attend Reunion. After the traditional R.F. Smith School ChemE Reunion breakfast, director Susan Daniel gave the Class of ’75 a private tour of the renovated Olin Hall, highlighting the school’s five-year plan and recent NSF grant-supporting advancements in pedagogical methods.

I’m sad to report the February 2026 passing of Tom Patterson, MBA ’77, who I first met in eighth grade. Tom ran cross country and track for four years, was track team co-captain, earned All-Ivy honors six times, and set several Cornell and Ivy records. Tom was a member of Chi Psi fraternity and Quill & Dagger Honor Society, and served as president of the Cornell Spiked Shoe Society. After finishing his engineering degree, Tom earned an MBA from the Johnson School, worked many years for IBM, and coached track and cross country at Pleasantville (NY) High School. Tom also was a founding member of the Cornell Jack Moakley Endowment Fund and the Cornell Track Alumni Association.

My Pi Lambda Phi fraternity brother Jeff Loren was humbled and honored to accept the inaugural Distinguished Systems Engineer (SE) Award from Cornell’s SE Program in November 2025. Jeff was invited to serve on the Engineering Alumni Council in 1983 and joined the board of directors of the Cornell Society of Engineers in 1987. As a member and officer of the Cornell Engineering Alumni Association, he advocated for SE-like offerings—such as interdepartmental courses, project teams, and workplace skills, including technical communication.

Jeff’s career included 23 years in commercial and military aerospace, the majority of that time spent in aircraft-level test and integration within the U.S. Air Force and Department of Defense. He also published several conference papers, among other contributions. All told, this award far exceeds Jeff’s expectations in terms of personal, academic, or professional recognition.

Allan LaBarre ’75 and wife Gina are planning a cruise to Alaska, so Allan can finally step foot in his 50th state.

Allan LaBarre is living the dream while retired in Braselton, GA. He and wife Gina celebrated their “delayed” (due to COVID) 30th anniversary with a Pacific/Western Mexico/Panama Canal cruise. Last September the family celebrated Allan’s 72nd birthday at Oktoberfest in Munich, with side trips to Salzburg, Zurich, and Amsterdam. They are planning a cruise to Alaska, so Allan can finally step foot in his 50th state. All three of their kids now live nearby after Nicole spent two years living and working in NYC. Allan adds that he was sorry that he was unable to attend our 50th, “but go Big Red.”

Ed Manley was a Navy lieutenant while attending the “life changing” Hotel School. Learning so much in his two years on the Hill, he brought this information to the military, creating a series of professional development programs including hazard analysis and foodservice management certifications, among others. Traveling the world, Ed added more subjects to his programs, including guest service and beverage, teaching 10,000 people who earned 18,000 certifications. So, Cornell changed his life. If you get to Las Vegas, he’d love to see you all.

Kathleen Kelley finds semi-retirement in New England to be a good mix. Working two days a week (on her feet) at a terrific furniture chain is fun, gives her a schedule, and is a change from her 24/7 hotel and restaurant business (especially when she leaves for the day and her responsibilities stop!). Although she missed our 50th Reunion, a large group attended the 100th Hotel Ezra Cornell weekend in spring 2025. This event highlighted the amazing Hotel School students and very up-to-date business curriculum. Many attendees stayed at Ithaca’s La Tourelle Inn and Spa, purchased, renovated, and operated by a group of 28 Hotelie investors, led by Joe Lavin and Bill Minnock ’79, MBA ’83.

Michael ’76 and Louise Vacca Dawe recently visited Boston from Toronto for a Maple Leafs/Bruins hockey game, with Kathleen and Charles Hood joining them (won by the Leafs!). Mike got very good seats, and all enjoyed good weather, good food, and many of Boston’s historic sites.

Walter Krepcio can’t believe it’s been 50+ years since we graduated; like many of us, he has numerous vivid memories that seem like just yesterday. He and his wife live in Augusta, GA, about a mile from Augusta National Golf Club, and rent out their home during the Masters Tournament. This year they headed to the mountains for the week. In fall 2025 they plan a month-long cruise from Alaska, through the Panama Canal, ending in Miami. They love cruising and hope one day to do a 36-month major cruise.

Please continue to send us your news. How has life in our 70s changed, and how has it been enriched by our Cornell experiences? We’ll share your news in our upcoming columns. ❖ Mike Tannenbaum (email Mike) | Deb Gellman, MBA ’82 (email Deb) | Karen DeMarco Boroff (email Karen) | Joan Pease (email Joan) | Alumni Directory.

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1976

Thad Rutkowski has published a new book of poems called Tracks in Snow. According to the description from Finishing Line Press, “Tracks in Snow is a collection of short, lyric poems inspired by the author’s life. Thaddeus Rutkowski grew up as a biracial child in northern Appalachia and later moved to New York City. These candid poems focus on themes of alienation and belonging, closeness to nature, parenthood, and aging. Each poem contains careful observation of detail—the flapping of a bird’s wing, the sound of a mantra, the smell of smoldering charcoal briquettes—and a conceptual twist on the subject.”

As I’m writing this, our 50th Reunion is coming up! Registration has begun and the events look terrific. Hoping to see friends and to enjoy being on campus. Be sure to send your news to Pat or me so that we can include you in a future column! ❖ Lisa Diamant (email Lisa) | Pat Relf Hanavan (email Pat) | Alumni Directory.

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1977

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer months and getting some time to relax. Here is an update from one of our classmates.

Hank Fessler recently retired as professor of medicine and public health after 40 years at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care. There, he directed the Fellowship Training Program and served as assistant dean for curriculum, among other roles. His wife, Joan, had previously retired after 20 years teaching preschool.

Hank and Joan relocated from Baltimore to rural Trumansburg, NY, last year to enjoy the nature and culture first sampled as an undergraduate. They relish visits with their two grandchildren and daughters Abigail ’14, an infectious disease specialist in Seattle, and Emily, a geriatrician at Weill Cornell, along with their spouses.

Please send news about what’s happening in your life—celebrations, trips, family milestones, work, retirement, etc.—or just favorite Cornell memories. We enjoy hearing from you and having the opportunity to share your stories with our fellow classmates.

Keep all your news and views coming in via the online news form! ❖ Mary Flynn (email Mary) | Howie Eisen (email Howie) | Alumni Directory.

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1978

Beginning with celebrity classmate news, Bill Maher is receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. “For nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy,” said Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations in a statement. “For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse—one politically incorrect joke at a time.”

Charlie Schulz left Silicon Valley and a software engineering career several years ago to retire north in Spokane, WA. He hasn’t given up tennis since he was on the Cornell men’s team, and he’s still playing competitively. While in California, he played in USTA leagues, and as a captain of a NetApp team in the San Francisco Bay Area Industrial Tennis League, playing co-ed teams from Apple, Google, Intel, Lockheed Martin, and others, with recent grads from college tennis.

Charlie writes, “In January I played in the USTA League 65+ Nationals doubles in Surprise, AZ, on a team representing the Pacific Northwest Section. Our team had four former college NCAA DI players (me, Towson University, University of Idaho, and Fresno State), two as teaching pros, and one who played professionally after college including at the Australian Open.”

Andrew Paul celebrated his 70th birthday with several classmates including JC Henry, Tom Marino, and Bob Lerner. Andrew is still working and enjoying the pace of an active investor, living primarily in Pebble Beach, CA, and Aspen, CO, after leaving New York during COVID. Andrew became a venture capitalist in San Francisco after getting his MBA in 1983; he then became a private equity investor in New York. After 20 years at a large buyout firm, Andrew started several financial firms and now runs the family office from Aspen. Two of his four children went to Cornell and three of them work with him at Sopris Capital.

Andrew writes, “We have several other Cornell grads at the firm, and I still cherish my relationships at Cornell.” He joined the board of trustees in 2000 and finished active duty in 2008. He has since remained an active emeritus board member, helping when “bigger issues pop up.” Andrew and wife Margaret are celebrating their 39th wedding anniversary this year.

Bill Maher ’78 is receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

David Smith is also an active alumni volunteer. “I’m in Ithaca at least twice a year as a member of the CALS Dean’s Advisory Council,” he says. “I love being back on campus and helping out to keep it the best ag school in the country. Dean Benjamin Houlton is a superb leader; we’re lucky to have him.” After a long career in research and development, mostly for a number of leading food companies, David retired about seven years ago. He led the development and maintenance of numerous brands for iconic consumer companies, including Lay’s, Hunt’s, Hot Pockets, Oreos, Planters, Campbell’s, Goldfish, Neutrogena, Listerine, and many more.

David lives with his significant other and keeps busy at the gym and being the “STEM” grandparent of two grandsons who live nearby and a granddaughter in the Cleveland area. Travel is also a big part of David’s retirement lifestyle. He and his family spend a lot of time in Colorado, both in winter and summer, as well as spending time in the summer at the Jersey Shore and getting to bucket list places like the Galápagos and Machu Picchu. David was able to catch a couple of Cornell hockey games—unfortunately a loss to Princeton and the playoff loss to the University of Denver. “Oh well, there’s next year—and lacrosse season,” he sighs.

After serving in numerous executive finance and risk positions at Citibank, AIG, and other firms, Bruce Schneider retired at the end of 2023. He’s been volunteering at a food pantry and doing part-time consulting in risk management. Bruce and his wife, Amy, celebrated 45 years of marriage in May. Their son and his wife welcomed Bruce and Amy’s first grandchild in June 2024.

Larry Carbone, BA ’80, DVM ’87, PhD ’00, published The Hidden Lives of Lab Animals: A Vet’s Vision For A More Humane Future. Starting from his days as a laboratory veterinarian in Cornell’s animal labs, he has advocated for both animal welfare and medical progress. A longtime veterinarian, with this book Larry invites you into animal labs—and shares his vision for more compassionate research.

Byron Reed is still working full time as senior principal engineer at Webber/Smith Associates. His daughter, who toddled around campus in ’78, has her own daughter now in college. In total, Byron has four children and nine grandchildren. He lives in Lancaster County, PA, with Amish neighbors next door and across the street. Byron encourages everyone to reach out to professors who had an impact; he recently connected with Prof. Gerald Rehkugler ’57, MS ’58, on LinkedIn and thanked him for the education that drove his career.

Pepi Leids, DVM ’82, shares the unfortunate news that she took an unlucky slip while walking and broke her right femur, which required surgery. Healing wishes to her.

Love getting all your news and updates! Keep them coming! ❖ Ilene Shub Lefland (email Ilene) | Cindy Fuller, PhD ’92 (email Cindy) | Alumni Directory.

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1979

I am pleased to begin this column with two exciting awards won by classmates. Nancy Sverdlik was a recipient of the Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award, which recognizes alumni who have demonstrated extraordinary service to Cornell through long-term volunteer activities. In addition, Dan Mansoor, MBA ’80, won the 2026 William “Bill” Vanneman ’31 Outstanding Class Leader Award, for long-term exemplary service to the University and to their class. Congratulations to these two individuals, and we thank them for their tireless efforts in support of the Class of 1979.

In other news, Mike Curran writes that he has recently returned from an amazing Jewish heritage trip to Poland with classmate Michael Furman. They started their travels in Warsaw, proceeded to Lublin and Rzeszow, and finally landed in Krakow. He notes that, although Poland has had a turbulent history, it is a beautiful country with friendly, hardworking people who have rebuilt a wide range of historic buildings and are building beautiful new ones as well. He summed up the trip: “Everywhere has been spotless, the food plentiful, and the beer cold. Hard to complain.”

Dushica “Dee” Babich Protic and her husband, John, celebrated the marriage of son Nikola Protic ’19 to Kathryn Zimmerman ’18. The couple met as undergraduates in Cornell’s College of Engineering, while they were officers of the Outing Club, and they have been together ever since, pursuing their love of the outdoors, including camping, skiing, and rock climbing. In attendance at the wedding was the best man, David Boak ’19, son of Chris ’80 and Kathleen Buckley Boak ’81, who, as longtime friends of the Protics, were also present. Other Cornellians there were Beth Horowitz, Gail Levy Lavielle ’78, Karen Burke Goulandris ’67, PhD ’73, and the groom’s uncle, Alexander Babich, MD ’88. Theirs is a family truly steeped in Cornell spirit and tradition.

Mike Curran ’79 writes that he has recently returned from an amazing Jewish heritage trip to Poland with classmate Michael Furman ’79.

I recently had lengthy visits on the telephone with fellow Phi Sigma Epsilon fraternity brothers Randy Ross and Ken Medla. It was a lot of fun catching up and reliving stories of events during our time at Cornell. It was great to hear that they and their families are doing well, and we look forward to getting together this summer.

Lastly, Kevin Bruns, who now lives in Pittsford, NY, reports that he and his fellow VP for affinity affairs, Elizabeth Kutscher Rosenstein, will soon ramp up planning for our 50th Reunion. “Mark June 7–10, 2029 on your calendar,” they wrote. “It will be here before you know it. We’ll be in touch with past affinity group leaders in the months ahead.” Affinity groups include everything from college majors to campus organizations and dorms, such as Sperry Hall residents, fraternities and sororities, Arts and Sciences alumni, mechanical engineering majors, and Big Red Band alumni. For details you can email Kevin or Liz at cornellaffinity79@gmail.com.

Assistance with Reunion is also always welcome by Reunion team leaders Kathy “KB” Best and Susan “Sukey” Call, who will also be seeking input and involvement from those who would like to make our 50th Reunion the best it can be. Stay tuned for additional information and ways to become involved in Reunion planning and activities in the periodic e-newsletters that will be sent to all classmates who have provided email addresses. As such, it is important that we have current email addresses for everyone.

Please send updates to your contact information, as well as your travels, jobs, retirements, and other personal and family news, via the Share Your News form (which will be arriving in your mailbox in a couple of months), the online news form, or emails sent directly to any of our class correspondents: ❖ Larry Bunis (email Larry) | Cynthia Ahlgren Shea (email Cynthia) | Linda Moses (email Linda) | Alumni Directory.

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1980s

1980

Mum’s the word. Crickets. A kind of hush. However you want to describe it, you, the gentle readers of this column, have kept your fascinating stories to yourselves. Since I have the floor to myself, let me tell you a couple of stories.

You undoubtedly have heard by now how our classmate Victor Schwartz took on the president’s Liberation Day tariffs and liberated us from them. There was wide coverage in the media, including this New York Times story. Victor and I were on the same floor of U-Hall 4 freshman year and were then fraternity brothers at Alpha Delta Phi. His wife, Cushla Naegele, and I have been friends even longer, meeting as high school students at Cornell’s summer program in 1975.

Last November 5, I went down to the Supreme Court for the oral arguments to see constitutional history being made and to see my friends. After the two-and-a-half hours of arguments, I met with Victor and Cushla and their charming daughter, Chloe, who unsurprisingly is as exceptional as her parents, even though she went to Penn. In this day and age especially, it is heartening when risk-taking by great people on behalf of a great cause is rewarded.

By most accounts, last year’s 45th Reunion was a great success. However, the informational materials provided before Reunion were, in my view, essentially silent on the issue of accessibility of the events to individuals with disabilities, while the scheduled events looked like an Outward Bound program.

Immediately after Reunion, I wrote a letter to the Alumni Affairs office, and I am pleased to say that they took me seriously. I met with them a couple of times, made my recommendations, and, to their credit, they (with the assistance of the ILR School’s Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability) substantially revised the Reunion materials. Starting with this year’s Reunion, there is an accessibility page on the Reunion website and a person in the Office of Alumni Affairs dedicated to answering accessibility questions and concerns.

Please do not hesitate to send your latest updates to us. We look forward to hearing from all of you, near and far. ❖ David Durfee (email David) | Dik Saalfeld (email Dik) | Chas Horvath, ME ’81 (email Chas) | Karen Vecchio DeFusco (email Karen) | Alumni Directory.

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1981

If Cornell taught me anything (besides how to function on very little sleep and a lot of ambition), it’s that life doesn’t slow down—it just gets more interesting. Case in point: here we are, decades later, still sprinting.

By day, I’m an associate director of development for Hadassah—a formal way of saying I help make sure extraordinary things keep happening. The work supports hospitals in Israel that don’t just treat patients; they model coexistence at its best. People of all backgrounds receiving care side by side, doctors pushing the boundaries of research in cancer, genetics, and trauma, and the next generation being trained to carry it forward. It feels especially urgent—and meaningful—right now.

By night (and early morning, and weekends), I run a household with the logistical complexity of a small startup. My daughter, Ella, has finished her sophomore year at the University of Florida and is spending the summer working at Gleneagles Country Club—proof she has both a strong work ethic and a far higher tolerance for Florida heat than I do. Meanwhile, Brayden is leading volleyball at sleepaway camp in the Poconos, which somehow segues directly into college applications. Yes, already. Blink and they’re writing essays.

My husband, Russ, manages homes—a 24/7 role requiring strategy, patience, and a working knowledge of plumbing emergencies. And because I live in Florida, I’ve inevitably become a pickleball enthusiast. It starts innocently: one game. Then suddenly you own three paddles and have strong opinions about court surfaces.

Our Cornell community, as always, continues to impress—and occasionally intimidate. Betsy Rubiner recently published Our Diaries, Ourselves: How Diarists Chronicle Their Lives and Document Our World, which makes you want to immediately start journaling something profound (or at least legible). David Hoff has officially retired after a remarkable career in food and beverage management and decades of disability services and advocacy. He’s now embracing grandparenthood (welcome, Cooper!) and trying stand-up comedy in Boston—because why not?

Kimberlé Crenshaw continues shaping national conversations. A distinguished professor at UCLA School of Law and the Sulzbacher Professor of Law at Columbia, she coined the term “intersectionality,” changing how we understand overlapping systems of inequality. Her new memoir, Backtalker (Simon & Schuster, 2026), is already generating buzz—not just for its ideas, but for the story behind them.

Celia Rodee ’81 and Peter Cooper ’80 met in 1977 doing dishes in Cornell Dining.

And then there are the stories that feel quintessentially Cornell—like Celia Rodee and Peter Cooper ’80, who met in 1977 doing dishes in Cornell Dining. Fueled by long shifts, shared playlists, and the era of the Galloping Gourmet, something clicked somewhere between scrubbing trays and talking about life beyond Ithaca. Decades later, that origin story still holds. They cook as a team—one cooks, one cleans, then they switch (Cornell Dining training doesn’t fade). Their home in Glen Ellyn, IL, has become a gathering place: warm, welcoming, and always ready for one more at the table.

Recently, they hosted classmate Christopher Garcia, MBA ’82, JD ’90, and his wife, Cheryl (Clarke), JD ’90, during a cross-country return to Virginia after a winter in Colorado, where Christopher served as a substitute Episcopal pastor. The visit was classic Cornell: great conversation, shared history, and an instant sense of connection, no matter how much time has passed.

Christopher’s path adds even more texture. After a 25-year military career as a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (retiring as a full colonel), he earned a divinity degree and spent 14 years as an Episcopal rector, including seven at historic Christ Church in Port Republic, MD. Retirement, in his case, means travel, serving as a cruise ship chaplain, winter pastoral roles in Colorado (with skiing as a clear “side benefit”), and—naturally—taking up rowing crew.

When he left Glen Ellyn, he mentioned needing to get back to Virginia to “get back in the boat”—both literally and, somehow, perfectly Cornell. Thanks to Celia’s encouragement, he was also planning to return for our June Reunion—his first trip back to Ithaca since 1990. It was so special seeing many of you at our 45th Reunion. Somehow it feels like both a lifetime ago and just yesterday that we were on campus, figuring things out.

Renee Miller-Mizia shares that Margaret “Maggie” Colette arrived on March 25 to proud parents J. Colin Mizia ’12 and Kathryn McCormack. A few weeks early, but doing well—and already turning her parents back into night owls.

And here we are—still figuring things out. Just with more responsibility, better stories, and (ideally) a little more perspective. I’d love to keep telling those stories, so keep them coming: trips, career updates, family news, new ventures, or just something that made you laugh. Big or small, it all counts. Time flies. Share your news—it’s what keeps this community connected. Go Big Red. ❖ Betsy Silverfine (email Betsy) | Alumni Directory.

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1982

Congratulations to Beckie Brown Robertson, the recipient of the Cornell Duffield Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes engineering alumni whose vision and leadership has had a transformational impact on society and whose professional accomplishments bring distinction to the college. Beckie was recognized in a formal ceremony by President Michael Kotlikoff and Dean Lynden Archer on April 23.

Jonathan Poe reports that, as a co-founder and general partner at Versant Ventures, Beckie has successfully brought new medical technologies from concept to market. She is a key figure at Cornell, serving as vice chair of the Board of Trustees; chairing its executive committee; holding roles on the biomedical engineering advisory board and the dean’s engineering college council; and providing key support to the College of Engineering in creating its latest degree programs in biomedical engineering, starting first with the graduate program and then its undergraduate degree program.

With Beckie’s husband Neil and Jamie Hintlian, ME ’85, MBA ’86, in attendance, President Kotlikoff stated, “Beckie Robertson represents the very best of Cornell—visionary in her leadership and generous in her service. She brings a rare combination of intellectual rigor and deep humanity, inspiring those around her to think more boldly, act more thoughtfully, and pursue impact with intention.” Beckie is also known for her significant contributions to the healthcare industry, is an active member of our class, and (according to Dean Archer) is “a ruthless truth seeker.” She can be found as alumna #13 on the 140 years of Cornell Women Engineers website. Award pictures can be found at LinkedIn and Instagram (Thanks, Rick Eno!).

President Kotlikoff stated, ‘Beckie Robertson ’82 represents the very best of Cornell—visionary in her leadership and generous in her service.’

In February, like moths drawn to the Florida sun, several Pi Kappa Alpha ’82ers dug themselves out from under the snow and flew south, only to run into each other on the Riverwalk in Tampa. No explanation was forthcoming for this miraculous coincidence, but it was rumored to be someone’s birthday or retirement, or maybe it was just that magnetic Big Red attraction. The group, which included Marc Rockford, Brian Pickerall, Neil Best, Steve and Lisa Mummery Crump, Andy Bjork, Charles Weinberg, Doug Ross, Rich Gold, Rick Eno, Nate Rudgers, Paul Wessel ’83, and Barry Lawrence ’84, had a great time catching up and thawing out in the warmth of the sun.

We received an update from John Pisacane, who wrote, “The last 18 months have been busy! I sold my dental practice in November 2024 after 36 years. I was ready, and yet leaving a great staff and patients I knew for decades was bittersweet. Then my wife, Teresa Newell, and I decided to sell our San Jose home of more than 25 years, with all the prep that entails. The house sold in the late spring of 2025.

“We settled in Pismo Beach, CA, and now enjoy the retired life of fitness, pickleball, and travel. Retirement saw my blood pressure fall and my waistline shrink as I took the time to take care of myself for once. If some of you haven’t retired yet, I wholeheartedly recommend it! I am living my best life with my fantastic partner and look forward to reconnecting with classmates at our 45th Reunion in 2027.”

Start planning now for our 45th Reunion, June 10–13, 2027! ❖ Nina Kondo (email Nina) | Doug Skalka (email Doug) | Mark Fernau (email Mark) | Alumni Directory.

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1983

No news this month, but we’d still love to hear from you. Whether you’ve moved, traveled, retired, started something new, or simply rediscovered your favorite Cornell memories, send along an update for a future column. ❖ Class of 1983 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1984

Hey, classmates! I hope you’re enjoying the summer. I’m splitting time between Michigan, Florida, Montana, and Georgia. This is a great stage of life!

John Toohey and his wife, Carmen, recently established the John Toohey-Morales and Carmen Toohey Fund for Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell. It will provide undergraduate students hands-on, experiential learning, mentoring, professional connections, and other enriching opportunities.

The distribution will also allow the student-run Cornell Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (CCAMS) to send students to the biggest meteorology meeting in the hemisphere this coming winter—and in perpetuity. This, of course, is under the guidance of the CCAMS advisor and the earth and atmospheric sciences department chair.

The couple were on campus for the CALS Dean’s Advisory Council meeting and a small event in Snee Hall to announce and celebrate this gift. John knows first-hand that the students and faculty are immensely grateful.

Rick Betsch and I, Mike Held, recently went fishing in Marathon in the Florida Keys, and during the first week in May, we caught lots of mahi-mahi, tuna, grouper, snapper, runners, and jacks. Let me know if you’d like to come over for a fish dinner!

Please keep those updates coming! ❖ Michael Held (email Michael) | Charles Oppenheim (email Charles) | Alumni Directory.

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1985

Frank Pietrucha writes, “Last August I lost my husband of 22 years, John McGaw (Penn), to ALS. We left D.C. in time for him to spend a year drinking in the California sunshine here in Palm Springs. It’s not been an easy transition, but fortunately I have a passion that is keeping me going—that and my wonderful Irish terrier, Cubsy.

“I’m director of external relations for a startup biotech called Oxeia Biopharma. We have what clinical trials tell us is quite possibly the world’s first treatment for concussions. I am working with NFL stars, Navy SEALs, and others to let people know that a treatment for concussions is possible in the near future. Unfortunately, investing in biotech is way down and we need investment to move forward. I also enjoy skiing and hiking. I love my access to both here in California. It’s much easier to get to a mountain than it was in D.C.!

“I was far from being an outstanding student, but the Cornell effect has had a profound impact on my life. I go after business and life with gusto—confident I can make a difference, but never in a smug sort of way. I’m not sure I would have felt this way going to an average school.” ❖ Class of 1985 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1986

The news from all of you was especially light this go-’round, but we did hear from a few classmates and the common theme was architecture.

Laura Weiss penned an essay on the experience of creating “the dragon” in the spring of 1982 as a member of the freshman architecture class. Reading about her experience, I was struck by the reminder of a time before cell phones and social media. We relied on different ways of communicating and, I believe, had more shared experiences. I think we all remember Dragon Day and the excitement it brought to campus. The article is a fun read and also reflects on some of the bigger life lessons she learned from that experience.

We also heard from Brad Feinknopf, who lives in Bexley, OH, with his wife, Abby. He shared the exciting news that he was recently named by Architizer as one of the “100 Visionary Creatives Changing How We See Architecture.” According to the write-up, Brad’s “passion for photographing architecture directly stems from the influence of his grandfather and father, both successful architects. He has personally been shooting photography for 35+ years, since graduating from Cornell University with his undergraduate degree in design.

“Brad established Feinknopf Photography, where a strong clientele among architectural firms rapidly grew. In serving these clients, Brad has traveled throughout the world shooting projects, several hundred of which have been published internationally or nationally and a similar number have been international or national award winners.” You can read more here.

Please continue to send us your news and updates. ❖ Lori Spydell Wagner (email Lori) | Michael Wagner (email Michael) | Toby Goldsmith (email Toby) | Alumni Directory.

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1987

Christine Shaw Palmquist, MBA ’88, serves as a volunteer at Dare2tri, an organization that supports adaptative athletes entering the world of sports and triathlons. Chris has been deeply involved for decades in the sport of triathlon, as both an athlete and a coach. She is a USA Triathlon Level III Elite Coach and has worked with athletes across all levels, including serving as a Team USA paratriathlon coach at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. She remains actively engaged in adaptive sports and currently supports Dare2tri’s programming and athlete development.

The Cornell Women’s Alumni Network had its inaugural event in late March in Philadelphia. Liz Brown, JD ’90, is a founding member of its board, which includes Natalie Cornell ’79, Anne Paoletti Bayna ’94, Carol Berman’94, Emily Newton ’10, and Joyce Bi ’20. Approximately 30 alumni from various Cornell classes attended the event, and we’re happy to share that the board has already started planning the 2027 event.

Classmates Brenda Wilkinson Melvin, Debra Howard Stern, Heather Jason, Diane Francis, and Candace Osunsade attended the 50th anniversary of the Cornell Black Alumni Association, which was held in Washington, DC, in late April.

And several other classmates—David Fagan, Adam Ratner, Jay Sabin, Adam Sussman ’88, and Howard Ross ’88—made their annual trek to the New Orleans Jazz Fest.

While in Milan, Italy, in April to see a performance of Turandot on the opera’s 100th anniversary, Tom Tseng, ME ’94, ran into former provost Don Randel at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

And lastly, Gail Stoller Baer’s daughter Rachel Baer ’17 got married in Olema, CA, in April. Congrats! ❖ Liz Brown, JD ’90 (email Liz) | Whitney Weinstein Goodman (email Whitney) | Alumni Directory.

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1988

Happy summer, Class of ’88! I hope that all of you are finding some time to relax with your family and friends—maybe catching a wave, watching a World Cup soccer game, or celebrating your 60th birthday.

Barry Wolfert, an alum from the Hotel School, is running for Congress in the State of Georgia in the 11th District. Meanwhile, another Hotelie, Dana Barrett, is running for Secretary of State in Georgia as well. Good luck to both of you with your campaigns.

Hot off the press: Stephen Sheffield was recently featured in the June issue of the Black & White Photography magazine with his surreal “Everyman” series. According to the description, “‘Everyman’ embodies an ongoing fascination with what makes us human and what constitutes the surreal. The photographs are darkly humorous and simultaneously optimistic about the human condition. Mostly, Sheffield’s Everyman could be anyone, doing everyday things seen from a variety of angles.” Have a look at his photographs.

Saman Amarasinghe, the Thomas and Gerd Perkins Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, has joined the AI infrastructure company Lemurian Labs as a technical advisor. In this role, he will help guide the development of next-generation compiler technology for AI systems with the engineering team. While he was a student at Cornell, Saman studied electrical engineering and computer science.

Now for a little about my own life: Recently, I traveled to Ireland to visit my youngest daughter, Katie, who spent her spring junior semester studying in Dublin. My daughter Sarah is completing her master’s in environmental engineering at Tufts University in Massachusetts. My daughter Allison, who also works and lives in Massachusetts, recently got engaged. My eldest daughter, Rebecca, just graduated from Teachers College at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. I currently live in Toronto, Ontario, with my husband, Graham Anderson, MBA ’88, and our labradoodle, Lucy. My baking business, Pamsweets, keeps me busy and I enjoy gardening, swimming, and playing pickleball in my free time.

Please remember to pay your class dues. Your contributions help our class to organize events in the coming months and help fund our class scholarships. Here is the link to pay dues.

That’s all for now. Please keep sending your news to me. I love hearing from our classmates, both near and far. ❖ Pamela Darer Anderson (email Pam) | Alumni Directory.

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1989

Hi classmates, family, and friends of the Class of ’89! July and August may have us reminiscing about heading back to the Hill for fall semester—or excited about sending kids off to college.

And at least one of our classmates is a university president! Vinod Subramaniam notified Cornellians that he started in May as president of the University of Amsterdam. His previous role was president of the University of Twente, also in the Netherlands, for nearly five years.

A press release from Twente regarding his departure quoted the chair of the supervisory board: “Over the past years, Vinod has worked with great dedication and passion on Reinventing UT and has also made significant efforts to further strengthen UT’s profile at both the regional and national level. In doing so, he has made an important contribution to laying a strong foundation on which UT can now build for the future. We will greatly miss his commitment, his warmth, and his ability to bring people together.”

And an online news article from the University of Amsterdam outlined Vinod’s background and quoted him on the new role: “In addition to his administrative experience, Subramaniam has a broad international scientific track record. He is a professor of biophysics and obtained his PhD in applied physics in the U.S. for his work on laser spectroscopic protein research. His career took him to a number of leading research institutions in Europe before joining the University of Twente in 2004. There, he led the nanobiophysics department and was scientific director of the MIRA Research Institute. He later became director of the fundamental physics institute AMOLF.

“His work is characterized by interdisciplinarity and the connections between fundamental research and societal applications—core values that are also central to the UvA’s profile. Subramaniam is looking forward to his new role. ‘The UvA is a broad, open, and international university with a wide range of disciplines and strong societal engagement. I admire the combination of excellent teaching and research, which is both academically meaningful and socially impactful. Being able to return to Amsterdam in this role makes this appointment especially meaningful. I very much look forward to working together on the future of the UvA.’”

Vinod Subramaniam ’89 started in May as president of the University of Amsterdam.

One of our classmates has been working to honor a past Cornell president. Brad Olander, a parent at Washington (DC) Latin Public Charter Schools, worked with Bill Clausen ’05, assistant principal at the Anna Julia Cooper Campus of Washington Latin, to open the Hunter Rawlings Reading Room at Washington Latin’s Cooper Campus in Northeast D.C.

For the May 17 opening, they wrote to invited guests, “There are moments that remind us why we fell in love with learning in the first place” and described the naming of the reading room as “a naming that honors the man who, as Cornell’s president, championed the humanities with uncommon conviction. … The occasion will bring together Cornell alumni, Latin community members, and friends who share a belief that rigorous, humanistic education belongs to every student—not just those who can afford to seek it out. Hunter once said of Washington Latin’s students: ‘It is not so much that these students need the humanities, but rather that the humanities need these students.’ That sentence captures everything.”

One more brief update, thanks to classmate Jinny Van Deusen, who wrote that she and her husband, Tom Fitzsimmons, moved to Falmouth, MA, in 2023 and are loving life on the Cape! Jinny works in alumni relations for Emerson College. As for classmates, she says, “I stay in touch with Elise Billings, Emily Farnham, and Mickey Kamfjord, staying on top of work, life, and the goings-on of our 10 kids.”

Congratulations to all on their milestones and accomplishments! Please let us know about yours. Simply fill out an online news form or email one of us. ❖ Anne Czaplinski Treadwell (email Anne) | Lauren Kidder McGarry(email Lauren) | Stephanie Bloom Avidon (email Stephanie) | Kris Borovicka Gerig (email Kris) | Alumni Directory.

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1990s

1990

Welcome to summer, all! Hope the sun is as bright as our alumni’s endeavors.

In Brooklyn and Staten Island, Arts & Sciences alum Leslie Alvarado has established her practices as a board-certified pediatrician. She and her partner in DeVito and Alvarado employ seven providers at two offices with a mix of MDs, NPs, and PAs. Both practices have been recognized by the National Committee of Quality Assurance as a Patient-Centered Medical Home, a care model putting patients at the forefront. At a time when healthcare is challenging us all, she is a shining example of resiliency and leadership. Leslie shares that she’s also finding time for exercise and travel. With a 13-year-old daughter, she isn’t planning on retirement yet! Leslie continues to support our Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network. Thanks, Leslie, for your commitment to CU!

Michael Karangelen joined Star Mountain Capital as managing director and member of the firm’s executive and investment committees. Michael has been in the private credit and private equity platforms for 35 years, providing direct lending, structured equity, private equity, and secondary investment strategies. “I’ve followed Star Mountain’s evolution closely and have a deep respect for the differentiated platform, strong culture, and commitment to partnership the team has built.”

Michael has been active with Cornell since graduation. He has served as a trustee (now emeritus) of the Student Agencies Foundation since 1988, including 12 years as its president. He founded, designed, and led the capital campaign for the Cornell eLab accelerator, supporting student entrepreneurship. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Stanford Center on Longevity and was one of the initial trustees of the Bedford Playhouse, serving during the period in which the board conceived, designed, constructed, and raised capital for the creation of the theater as a cultural and community institution. He has also served as a trustee of Public Prep, a network of public charter schools.

Arts & Sciences grad Ryan Wyatt moved back east to NYC last August. After 18 years in California, he has returned to the American Museum of Natural History as vice president of science visualization and public engagement. He’s leading teams that create media experiences for its immersive spaces, exhibitions, and worldwide distribution—as well as managing the folks who organize lecture series, deliver cultural programming, and run the annual Mead Festival. He’s enjoying diving deep into the wide range of scientific research happening at the museum and looking forward to helping reimagine the museum’s future.

You might have encountered Ryan Wyatt ’90 at the Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences, where he served for 18 years.

Ryan’s blog, “Visualizing Science,” looks at his ideas and opinions related to visual representations of science, and he writes a regular “Visualizing Astronomy” column for Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal. He’s avid about archeoastronomy, as well as the history of science and the intersection between art and science.

You might have encountered Ryan at the Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences, where he served for 18 years. He wrote and directed the academy’s nine award-winning full-dome productions, on topics ranging from nucleosynthesis to ecosystems. He also wrote the documentary Back to the Moon: For Good (2013), and collaborated with the Imiloa Astronomy Center and others to develop and write planetarium “shorts” on indigenous and cultural astronomy, collectively known as the “One Sky Project.” He was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2024, serves on the equity, diversity, and inclusion committee of the International Planetarium Society (IPS), and was elected an IPS fellow in 2020.

Monica Roy started a new role as senior director, corporate development, for QuantumCT, Connecticut’s public/private initiative to establish the state as a leader in the emerging quantum economy, with Yale and UConn as the academic anchors. The initiative will drive scientific discovery, technology maturity, and industry applications, and it will attract corporates and startups and create jobs. Monica will be responsible for establishing and growing the “Alliance for Innovation” for industry members and creating pathways for industries to engage and grow along with the advancement of quantum technologies.

Lastly, please take a moment to remember classmate Jeffrey Capra of Austin, TX, who passed away on October 2, 2025. Jeffrey was a Psi Upsilon brother. He capped off a career in human resources as a high school history teacher. Prior to that, he was a director of human resources and operations at Britt Design Group and worked for Motorola and Ingersoll Rand. He enjoyed international travel, bicycling, and reading.

Won’t you drop us a note to tell us where you are on your journey? ❖ Liselle Petzen Esposito (email Liselle) | Rose Tanasugarn (email Rose) | Nancy Solomon Weiss (email Nancy) | Allan Rousselle (email Allan) | Class Facebook page | Alumni Directory.

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1991

As I am writing this column in California, we are wrapping up the school year and approaching the sunny days of summer. Our classmates have sent in some interesting news—stories of creativity and achievement.

Allison Lakin wrote, “When I made the career change from museums to cheesemaker, I kept my nod to Cornell in my business name, Lakin’s Gorges Cheese. I’m a small, farmstead cow’s milk cheesemaker in Maine, entering my 15th year in business. It is with immense pride that I share that my ‘Opus 42’ won a silver medal at the World Cheese Awards held in Switzerland! And it is available for nationwide shipping.”

Former Touchtone Wendy Fuhr is a full-time teaching faculty member at Bryn Mawr family practice residency program, where she’s been since 2009. Music continues to be a huge part of her life after Cornell. She plays in two bands, sings, and plays violin. The Touchtones from her era (’91–93) regularly get together across the country to sing and catch up with each other. Based in Philly, Wendy, as a primary care doc, has undergone specialized training to provide highly compassionate, competent care to meet the unique needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

Howie Stein shared that, after working for about 10 years as a software engineer, “I went back to school and was ordained as a rabbi in 2009. I met my wife, Debbie, while I was in grad school in Boston, and we were married in 2006. After two years as the campus rabbi at Grinnell College in Iowa, we ended up in Pittsburgh for more than 13 years. I served several small, part-time congregations while handling a lot of the parenting duties for our child, Aspen.”

He adds, “This past summer, we moved to Roanoke, VA, where I am the full-time rabbi at Temple Emanuel. 2025 was extremely hectic with finding the new position, moving, and planning a bat mitzvah, but we are all settling into our new home and happy to be where we are.”

When I made the career change from museums to cheesemaker, I kept my nod to Cornell in my business name, Lakin’s Gorges Cheese.

Allison Lakin ’91

Rob Marciano (Rye, NY) is an American science journalist and meteorologist who reports for CBS News, providing forecasts for “CBS Mornings” and reporting on the latest weather headlines across CBS News broadcasts and platforms. He worked previously for ABC News and CNN, and as co-host of “Entertainment Tonight.”

Rob recently coauthored The Next Big Thing: Innovations for a Better, Smarter, Stronger Tomorrow, which published in April. In it, according to the publisher, “meteorologist and science reporter Rob Marciano invites readers to take a journey through the innovations that will change our lives for the better in four key realms of science. Complementing Marciano’s reporting, physicist James Trefil unpacks the science behind each innovation and highlights other promising developments: solid-state batteries, quantum computers, 3D-printed homes, and robots.”

As for me, Evelyn Achuck Yue, I will be entering another phase in my life as an empty nester! My twins, James and Allison, will be graduating from high school. In the fall, James will be attending Washington University in St. Louis, MO, with his older sister, Madison, who will be a senior. Allison will be pole vaulting at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. Another graduate last May is my niece Samantha Saito ’26, a Cornell Hotelie.

After just competing at the U.S. Open Pickleball Championship in Naples, FL, my husband, Raymond, and I will hopefully have more time to travel and play in more tournaments. Who knows—my next career may be a senior pro pickleball player!

At the time of publishing this column, our 35th Reunion will have passed. I hope many of you were able to make it back to Ithaca, enjoy the festivities, and reunite with some old friends—and make new friends too! Please share your favorite moments with us for upcoming Class Notes columns. ❖ Evelyn Achuck Yue (email Evelyn) | Ruby Wang Pizzini (email Ruby) | Wendy Milks Coburn (email Wendy) | Joe Marraccino (email Joe) | Susie Curtis Schneider (email Susie) | Alumni Directory.

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1992

Danielle Girard is a prolific author who has appeared on the Amazon and USA Today bestseller lists and has penned several mystery series and numerous standalone novels. She has a new book out, called Pinky Swear, which Library Journal calls a “fast-paced thriller with a unique focus on motherhood and pregnancy.”

In it, the protagonist, Lexi, is reunited with her childhood bestie when the former friend, Mara, turns up looking for help after fleeing an abusive marriage. Lexi not only takes her in, but ultimately accepts her offer to serve as a surrogate for the child that Lexi—whose infertility struggles contributed to a marital separation—has longed for. It seems like an ideal arrangement—until Mara vanishes just before the baby is due.

Neeraj Khemlani also has a new book out! In The Coffee Can Investor, he explores the tactics of an investor who studied the commonalities among so-called “100-baggers”—stocks that have multiplied 100 times in value over the course of decades. According to the publisher, Columbia University Press, the book posits “What would happen if you bought a handful of stocks and then left them alone for some time, like stashing valuables in a coffee can? If you picked the right ones, you might wake up one day with life-changing wealth.” Neeraj is the former president of CBS News, as well as a past editor-in-chief of the Daily Sun.

Lily Tung Crystal ’92 is an award-winning coach and critically acclaimed director who has appeared in more than 50 productions.

Meredith Rosenberg, co-founder of NU Advisory Partners, is leading an executive search firm that’s pioneering AI searches for talent sourcing. She was named the winner in EdTech Digest’s 2026 awards in the leadership category for author, speaker, and podcaster. Meredith has been in the education and edtech sector for more than 25 years. She guides public and private capital-backed companies, investors, universities, and nonprofits in navigating the evolving education landscape. She is a frequent speaker at leading industry forums and has shaped conversations around education, inclusion, innovation, and the future of work.

In addition, her husband, Matthew Rubins ’90, wrote this lovely message: “I could not be more proud of my incredible wife and love of my life, Meredith, for what she did on Monday. She was on a pace to PR in the Boston Marathon when she saw a fellow runner crawling on the ground .75 miles from the finish line. Meredith picked her up and, with three others, carried her the last stretch down to the finish line where she crossed on her own power. So inspiring!”

Lily Tung Crystal is an award-winning coach and critically acclaimed director who has appeared in more than 50 productions. She recently directed Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song at East West Players in Los Angeles, and some lucky Cornellians had the opportunity to attend a post-show talk with Lily and other cast members in April. ❖ Wilma Ann Thomas Anderson (email Wilma Ann) | Jean Kintisch (email Jean) | Sarah Ballow Clauss (email Sarah) | Alumni Directory.

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1993

The academic year has come to a close; the summer celebrations begin with graduations, reunions, and vacations. We hope the months ahead offer time to recharge, reflect, and reconnect with family, friends, and fellow Cornellians. Keep the updates coming, and we look forward to seeing many of you back on the Hill as we build toward our 35th Reunion!

As part of Cornell’s “Leaders in Your Community” series, Jeff Drayer recently led a webinar titled “How Medical TV Shows Translate into Education.” A physician and television writer, Jeff offered a behind-the-scenes look at how medical storytelling can deepen our understanding of illness, healthcare, and the ethical complexities of modern medicine. Drawing on his dual career, he walked attendees through the full lifecycle of a television episode from concept to script to on-set production, illustrating how real-life cases are transformed into compelling stories that entertain and inform. Jeff has written and produced for series including “Royal Pains” and “Chicago Med,” bringing clinical authenticity, humor, and humanity to his work. He continues to develop new projects for television.

Amy Miller Moore Carter is proud to share that her son, Paul Moore Jr., has been admitted to the Cornell University Class of 2030. He will follow in the footsteps of his two older sisters, Leah ’20 and Sophia ’24, and, of course, Mom, in becoming a Cornellian.

Bonnie Zucker shares that she published her first book, Freedom from Panic: Evidence-Based Techniques to End Avoidance and Stop Panic Before It Stops You, with New Harbinger Publications in early May. She also continues to co-host the podcast Anxiety Matters with Dr. Bonnie Zucker and Dr. Bonnie Zucker, a unique collaboration with another psychologist who shares her name and specialty; it is now ranked in the top 2.5% of podcasts worldwide!

Attention, classmates! We’ve identified more than 700 classmates across 220 affinity groups with outdated or inactive email addresses. If you think we might have the wrong contact info for you—or for someone you know—please reach out to any of us listed below. Or go to Cornell Connect to update your information. We’re aiming to make our 35th Reunion even bigger than our 30th, and we want you to be part of it! ❖ Theresa Flores (email Theresa) | Mia Blackler (email Mia) | Melissa Hart Moss, JD ’97 (email Melissa) | Alumni Directory.

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1994

Let’s begin with this charming note from Meg Feury Ragland: “Just writing to say hello and tell you that I just had the most fabulous reunion with my Cornell besties in Nashville. We came together to laugh, laugh, laugh, dance, sing, play mah-jongg, dine, cheer, and laugh some more!” In attendance were Anna Willett Benton, Priya Wagle, Sunita Wagle Diez, Kirstin Licciardello Nicholson, ME ’95, Kate Bird MacDonald, MS ’97, and Charisma Garcia-Ryan Kitchener, MBA ’00. May this inspire you to create your own Cornell mini-reunions, wherever you are in the world.

Where in the world is Brian McKay, ME ’95? He’s a senior investigator/trainer with ICAM Australia, where he focuses on workplace safety and cybersecurity. His background includes more than seven years as a U.S. Navy submarine officer, plus roles as a nuclear engineer and consultant across the defense and critical‑infrastructure sectors. In addition to his ME from Cornell, he holds an MBA from Washington State U.

Checking in with our attorney alumni, congratulations to Tulsa-based Kevinn Matthews, who was named to the 2026 edition of Best Lawyers in America. An energy attorney, Kevinn is also active in the Oklahoma Bar Association and Tulsa County Bar Association, earning multiple awards for service and leadership.

Karlene Rogers-Aberman, a senior partner at Stephenson Acquisto & Colman in Glendale, CA, has been named a Southern California “Super Lawyer” for the past 10 years, from 2016–25.

Also in SoCal is native Angeleno Todd Beck, CEO and founder of Beck Media and Marketing, a communications agency that serves major entertainment and tech clients. Todd is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Speaking of the creative arts, Lisa Wiley’s latest book of poetry, Dear Pancreas, is coming out this fall. A finalist for the London Independent Story Prize, Lisa is an English professor in Buffalo, NY, where she was nominated for the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Studies. Previous chapbooks include Eat Cake for Breakfast (Dancing Girl Press, 2021), Big Apple Rain (the Writer’s Den, 2018), My Daughter Wears Her Evil Eye to School (the Writer’s Den, 2015), and Chamber Music, a chapbook of 21 villanelles (Finishing Line Press, 2013). Find her on X.

I recently issued a prompt on the Cornell Class of 1994 Facebook page (if you haven’t joined the group by now, we’d love to see you there) asking alums which elective they have found unexpectedly useful in their lives. The answers ranged from wines to sailing to scuba diving to culinary arts to art history to Psych 347: The Psychology of Visual Communications, but I was surprised to see four votes for bowling! It’s the education that just keeps on giving. ❖ Dika Lam (email Dika) | Dineen Pashoukos Wasylik (email Dineen) | Jennifer Rabin Marchant (email Jennifer) | Alumni Directory.

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1995

’Tis the season to celebrate classmates’ kids going off to college. There are too many to list here, but I did get this personal note from our very own Class of 1995 president Lisa Powell Fortna, wherein she and husband Matthew shared the exciting news that their youngest, Katherine, has been admitted to Cornell and will be starting in the College of Human Ecology this fall as a human development major.

Meanwhile, son Jack ’26 graduated from CALS in May. He’s been part of Army ROTC and was commissioned as an officer before graduation, afterward joining the National Guard at the Buffalo Armory, not far away from his parents. “With Jack graduating and Katherine heading off to campus, Matthew and I are about to become official empty nesters—something we’re both excited (and a little surprised!) to be saying.”

Joining Katherine in the Cornell Class of 2030 is Jennifer Wendling Helgesen, MPA ’97’s son, Christian, who will be majoring in hotel administration.

Now let’s see what our classmates are up to themselves. Onah Jung is a Toronto-based architect who also teaches at Ontario College of Art & Design University and recently published a piece in Spacing Magazine on transit-oriented development and housing affordability in Toronto. The issues are not uniquely Canadian—the discussion between transit investment and affordable housing to be built near transit stations shows up in every major North American city. You can read the article here.

Hanna Stevens, director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, shared that she was selected for the editing team of Dr. Melvin Lewis’s textbook, Child and Adult Psychiatry (sixth edition). Coincidentally, Hanna’s first Lewis textbook was a third edition in 2004, signed by the author. “It’s been an amazing ride,” she wrote.

Michelle “Mikki” Knudsen shared her excitement that her book Into the Wild Magic was a finalist for 2025 Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction. Finalists are nominated by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) and the winners are announced at the Nebula Awards Conference on June 6. Since it’s still two months to go as I write this, I do not know the results but will be sure to share any further good news in a future column—or you can follow Mikki at her website.

Steve ’95 and Christine Taverna Reich ’95 did the polar plunge south of the Antarctic Circle in March. Christine’s comment: ‘I’m never doing that again!’

Also in the creative community, artist Brett Blumenthal, MBA ’04, wrote that she is “honored (and still a bit in disbelief)” that she was selected for the 2026 cohort of ArtPop Street Gallery. Brett primarily paints watercolors of wildlife, and the pieces selected are her whales—“symbols of both the beauty of our oceans and what’s at risk.” Through ArtPop, this work will move beyond the studio and into public spaces, appearing in places like Charlotte, Nashville, and even Times Square and L.A. You can check out Brett’s work here.

A fun tidbit came in from Steve and Christine Taverna Reich, who did the polar plunge south of the Antarctic Circle in March. I feel cold as I type those words, which echo Christine’s comment: “I’m never doing that again!”

And congratulations are in order for Martha Aliwalas, who, also in March, celebrated her 20th anniversary at CNY Family Care. “So grateful for the privilege to be part of this organization and the family that comes with it,” she noted.

Lastly, I have some sad news to share. Stephen Kabakoff passed away unexpectedly on April 29. He was a materials science and engineering graduate, played on the lightweight football team, and served on the Student Assembly. Following Cornell, Steve went on to earn advanced degrees from Carnegie Mellon and Suffolk Law School and built a distinguished career as an intellectual property attorney. He was deeply devoted to his wife, Julie, and daughter Jaclyn, and is remembered for his warmth, kindness, intellect, humor, and love of family, friends, music, travel, and the Red Sox.

Despite living in different parts of the country, Steve remained close with his Class of ’95 friends Jason Tax, Jake Tyler, and Kevin Wang. A silver lining of the pandemic is that the four started a monthly Zoom call during that time and continued in the years since—a reflection of their enduring friendship formed at Cornell. “We’ll miss him on our calls,” they wrote. ❖ Alison Torrillo French (email Alison) | Class website | Class Facebook page | Class Instagram page | Alumni Directory.

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1996

Sharing some joyful news from one of our classmates, Jennifer Lagnado Papp, MAT ’97, and her husband, Tim: they are thrilled to announce the arrival of their daughter, Victoria Grace, born on March 18, 2026. Such a beautiful moment! Wishing their growing family all the love, joy, and sleep (when possible!) in this new chapter.

I recently came across a Cornellians story about Juan Uribe inspiring a stem cell drive on campus, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Juan put out a call to find a stem cell donor for his son, and what happened next was incredible. The Cornell community showed up in a big way, adding more than 1,300 new potential donors to the registry in just days.

What stayed with me most was this line: “This started off as a personal search … but now it could help save thousands of lives.” Reading it, I felt proud. This is someone from our class, and it’s a reminder that the connections we built back then still mean something. When it matters, people show up. Check out the full article here. It was good to see the Cornell community rally around Juan.

Gavin Healy shares, “I have just published a book with Cornell University Press, A Guide to Mao’s China: Showing the Nation to Foreign Guests.” He says, “This feels like a homecoming of sorts, 30 years after graduation!”

Here is a summary: “A Guide to Mao’s China explores how personnel within China’s state tourism bureaucracy during the Mao era struggled to balance inbound foreign tourism as a form of political, historical, and cultural representation with demands for developing a revenue-generating service industry in a socialist economy. The People’s Republic crafted its national narrative through tightly managed tours, and foreign visitors were led through model communes and factories by officials, guides, and service workers still negotiating what tourism meant within a socialist state.

Juan Uribe ’96 put out a call to find a stem cell donor for his son—and the Cornell community showed up in a big way, adding more than 1,300 new potential donors to the registry in just days.

“Drawing on government archives, service worker manuals, firsthand tourist reports, and rare ephemera, Gavin Healy … shows how tourism workers shaped foreign impressions of Chinese socialism, while grappling with its meaning themselves.” It’s an academic book, but I think it is one that is very accessible to general readers and quite timely. Book club, anyone? Talking about summer reading, what are you reading these days? Send a class note.

Lately, I, Marjorie Polycarpe Jean-Paul, have been thinking a lot about what it means to be an alum. As some of you may know, I’m currently in a doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and my research is focused on alumni connections. Specifically, what keeps people engaged with their schools over time, and what makes that connection inspire long-term support and engagement.

What’s surprised me most is how much this work has pushed me to reflect on my own experience at Cornell—and, most importantly, the power of an active and engaged alumni community. We all had different paths, different circles, different memories, but there’s still something that ties us together. And over time, that connection either fades or deepens depending on how we stay in touch, show up, and engage.

Doing this work has made me appreciate that alumni connection isn’t just about events or updates, but it’s about whether we still see ourselves as part of something shared and how we create a legacy for the next generation of students.

I hope everyone is doing well, wherever life has taken you. ❖ Marjorie Polycarpe Jean-Paul (email Marjorie) | Catherine Oh Bonita (email Catherine) | Janine Abrams Rethy (email Janine) | Alumni Directory.

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1997

Matt Hartman was recently featured in an article in TribLive called “AHN radiologist turns ‘The Pitt’ into teaching tool on TikTok.”

As the story explains, “Bathed in the blue light of a radiology reading room, Dr. Matthew Hartman and three of his medical students spent Wednesday morning analyzing X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasounds at West Penn Hospital. The images being reviewed by the class were real, but Hartman finds fiction can be just as powerful a teaching tool.

“He paused several times throughout the three-hour session to pull up self-made TikToks in which he imparts radiology lessons using clips of ‘The Pitt,’ the hit medical drama that takes place at a fictionalized version of Allegheny General Hospital. It’s his favorite show, not just because it depicts Pittsburgh, but also for its realism.

“In the middle of season two, student doctor James Ogilvie spots a patient’s swollen kidney using ultrasound but misses what turned out to be a deadly abdominal aortic aneurysm. That’s a lesson in how doctors shouldn’t stop reviewing a scan just because they’ve found an issue, Hartman notes in one of the TikToks he showed Wednesday. ‘We’re responsible for everything on here,’ Hartman told his students, turning back to the real-life scans.

“Hartman has taught medical students since 2002, when he was still a resident, and is closing in on 20 years as an Allegheny Health Network radiologist. He reluctantly took up TikTok in July at the urging of his students but got hooked once positive feedback started rolling in. Since then, he has uploaded dozens of videos related to ‘The Pitt’ and other medical topics.” You can read the full story here. ❖ Class of 1997 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1998

Robert Polemeni has joined Yankwitt LLP, a law firm in Westchester County, as a partner. He will focus on commercial litigation, white-collar defense, and internal investigations for individuals and companies facing significant legal and reputational risk.

Robert brings more than 20 years of experience handling complex, high-stakes matters. He served for nearly 14 years as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York, where he prosecuted sophisticated financial crimes, public corruption cases, and violent and organized crime matters. During his tenure, Robert held several senior leadership roles, most recently serving as deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section, where he supervised some of the office’s most sensitive investigations involving government and elected officials.

“Robert is exactly the type of lawyer we look for at Yankwitt LLP—an experienced trial attorney with exceptional judgment and leadership experience earned at the highest levels of government,” said managing partner Russell Yankwitt, JD ’96. “He has handled some of the most complex and sensitive cases in the federal system and knows how to exercise discretion, think strategically, and perform under pressure. Robert’s arrival further strengthens our ability to represent clients when the stakes—legal, financial, and reputational—are at their highest.” ❖ Class of 1998 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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1999

Happy summer, Class of ’99! It’s a quiet column this round, but we’d love to change that. Help us fill future columns with news from near and far—career changes, family milestones, travels, volunteer work, hobbies, and Cornell connections alike. ❖ Class of 1999 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2000s

2000

Hello, everyone. I have some news to share with you from a fellow alumna.

Angela Salomon Barkan has become the new CEO of the New York-based entertainment PR firm Shore Fire Media, originally founded by Cornell alum Marilyn Laverty ’76. Prior to this, Angela spent eight years at Bertelsmann Music Group and 18 years at Sony Music record labels in artist development, PR, and marketing.

We send out a huge congratulations to Angela! And thank you for sharing your news with us. Wishing all the best to Cornellians everywhere, especially to the Class of 2000. ❖ Denise Williams (email Denise) | Alumni Directory.

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2001

I hope everyone that made it to our 25th Reunion in June had a great time! There were great events and activities thanks to months of hard work by our Reunion co-chairs Lorraine Medeiros and Marisa Laks and registration chair Claire Ackerman. What were your favorite moments of nostalgia? Climbing Libe Slope? Hot Truck? The Cornell Dairy Bar? Staying in Becker Hall on West Campus for the weekend? Keep an eye on our Facebook group for pictures and stories from Reunion as well. We want to hear from you. Due to the publication deadline, we’ll have a Reunion recap in our next edition, where we can share your stories.

Perhaps Reunion stoked an interest in getting more involved with Cornell and representing our class? Well, there’s no time like the present! We rely on interested and engaged alumni to help put together events and other ways to keep us connected to our alma mater and each other. Take a look at our class website for descriptions for officer roles including president, vice president, membership chair, communications chair, Cornell Annual Fund representative, Reunion chair, secretary, treasurer, affinity chair, and class council representatives. (Most of these roles can also be shared, if you know a classmate who may want to partner up with you too.)

Courtney Pearson Esposito has a thriving business in the Dallas area called Bee Contained. What started as a custom container garden business has blossomed (no pun intended) into a quickly growing exterior and interior floral design company that is in high demand. While many clients rely on Bee Contained to provide florals for their own personal enjoyment, it can also help boost a home’s curb appeal when it’s going on the market or for staging the interior for real estate showings. With Courtney’s great eye for color and design, she also advises and delivers a range of interior floral and larger statement pieces. Check out Bee Contained and say hello to Courtney and Bryan if you’re in the Dallas area!

Courtney Pearson Esposito ’01 has a thriving business, Bee Contained, that has blossomed (no pun intended) into an exterior and interior floral design company.

Congratulate Chris Kercher on crossing 17 years at Quinn Emanuel, where he’s a partner. In a recent podcast, Chris talks with John Quinn, the founder of Quinn Emanuel, about the AI system they built to change the quality of legal work, and free up lawyers to focus on the critical thinking it takes to win cases. You can listen to this episode here. Chris lives in Connecticut with his wife, Cory (Belnick).

Joshua Pheterson joined the University of Rochester’s legal team as associate counsel in March 2026—and you hopefully saw him at Reunion with his wife, Melissa (Hantman). Josh provides legal advice and counseling to the university on all aspects of real estate, land use, facilities, and construction matters. His practice includes the preparation and negotiation of real estate leases and licenses; real estate acquisition and disposition agreements; design and construction contracts; easements and rights of way; and brokerage and property management agreements.

Prior to joining the Office of Counsel, Josh practiced real estate and corporate law in private practice in Rochester and New York City, and served as in-house counsel for a Rochester real estate development company for over a decade. He also worked for Monroe County, where he advised on real estate matters and counseled the Monroe County Airport Authority.

Got news or memories to share? Stories from our 25th Reunion? Email either of us, visit our website, join and participate in our Class of 2001 Classmates Facebook group, and follow our Class of 2001 Instagram. ❖ Nicole Neroulias Gupte (email Nicole) | James Gutow (email James) | Alumni Directory.

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2002

Jason Farrington is living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area. At work, he’s an operations and customer experience leader with more than 20 years of experience. Reach out to Jason if you’re in the Bay Area.

Elizabeth Abunaw was recently featured in a Cornellians article titled “Alum’s Black-Owned Grocery Thrives in a Former Chicago Food Desert.”

According to the story, “A decade ago, Elizabeth was running an errand in an unfamiliar Chicago neighborhood when she needed cash and realized there was no bank nearby. She searched for a grocery store or pharmacy to find an ATM—with no luck. Making a closer scan of the streets, she noticed the number of run-down buildings and vacant storefronts in the area, the historic Austin neighborhood on the city’s Far West Side.

“‘I’m looking at my surroundings and noticing that I’m in a predominantly Black community, and the amenities and services I was used to finding in other areas I’d lived in were missing,’ Elizabeth recalls. ‘I had heard the “tale of two cities” in Chicago, but this was the first time I actually saw it. The whole time I’ve lived here, I’d never thought twice about where I was going to get groceries, go to the bank, or find a pharmacy.’

“In the months that followed, Elizabeth couldn’t stop thinking about how someone should open a grocery store in the neighborhood—until that ‘someone’ became her.” Read more here! ❖ Class of 2002 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2003

Hope you’re all enjoying your summer! Shout out to Justin McManus, who was featured in a recent Cornellians story. Justin is the fourth-generation owner of the Peter McManus Café in Manhattan, an Irish pub that was founded by his great-grandfather. Justin grew up helping out at the bar before attending the Hotel School, where, according to the story, “he worked at the Statler, as both a waiter at Banfi’s and a bartender at its Regent Lounge.”

While Justin has worked at other restaurants, including Tabla, Rosa Mexicano, and his own sports bar, “he realized the pub would eventually be his destiny.” McManus Café, which still has many of the original features from when it opened in the 1930s, has been featured in various movies and TV shows. I look forward to checking it out the next time I’m in New York!

Congratulations also to Amy Jo Burns, whose newly released novel, Wait for Me, was featured as the “Today” show’s Read with Jenna March 2026 book. According to the publisher, this novel is “about the bond between two female folk singers, the love stories that haunt them, and the music that brings them together to burn bright.”

We love to hear how you’re doing. Please reach out with news and updates! ❖ Candace Lee Chow, PhD ’14 (email Candace) | Jon Schoenberg, ME ’03, PhD ’11 (email Jon) | Alumni Directory.

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2004

Emily Knight is CEO and president of the Engine, an MIT-founded nonprofit incubator based in Cambridge. Dedicated to providing early-stage tech companies with the infrastructure they need, including labs, equipment, tools, and workspace, the Engine helps companies working across climate, human health, and advanced systems. She credits the Nolan School not simply with teaching hospitality, but with teaching her how to create enabling environments: how to read a room, serve the person in front of you, and build an experience people want to return to.

Rachel Krug recently wrote a personal essay for Cornellians. In it, she wrote, “I arrived in Ithaca believing that college would prepare me for a career—idealistically, one where I could make a discovery that would change the world. I did not realize that, in addition to my education, Cornell would prepare me to navigate ambiguity, build resilience, and remain confident under pressure.

“In one of my freshman writing seminars, for example, I walked in with a paper on women in science that I felt proud of. I had worked hard on the argument and believed it held together. As soon as other people started sharing their stories, however, my confidence started to wobble. A classmate pointed out that the claims in my essay extended beyond what my evidence supported. The professor circled a paragraph and asked whether I had moved too quickly from observation to conclusion.

“I remember feeling exposed, like a very small fish in a very big pond. I also remember going back to my dorm and looking up how to transfer to another college. However, I soon got used to a pattern that repeated itself across seminars, then semesters, then years: I’d write a first draft, receive constructive criticism, and revise it. Soon enough, I realized that with each version, my work improved. And, over time, I learned to separate my ideas and homework from my identity. Revising my thinking strengthened my work and challenged me to perform at my best.

“Years later, as a business executive leading a cross-functional team, I found myself in a room where my strategy and vision documents were challenged line by line. I had to absorb objections, respond with curiosity, and clarify trade-offs with as much data and foresight as possible. Cornell had already trained that muscle: I knew I could revise and enhance my work without losing my confidence.” Read more here. ❖ Class of 2004 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2005

Sandeep Mannava is an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Rochester, specializing in sports medicine and complex shoulder surgery. He traveled to Italy to serve as a team physician during the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games, providing medical care for Team USA.

“It was pretty incredible. A lifetime achievement and experience,” Sandeep said in a recent Spectrum News article. “We dealt with everything from the flu to food poisoning to aches and sprains, to major falls and major traumas, including broken bones. So, it really does test us from a sports medicine standpoint, to be really on top of everything.”

Originally from Singapore, Afian Anwar and his wife are now living in Vancouver, British Columbia. Afian runs a software consultancy that works closely with the Google Maps team to test new products, and his work on 3D mapping was recently featured in the Globe and Mail. The story centered around new housing developments being planned in Vancouver, and how Afian’s tech can be used to determine how sightlines to the city’s famous mountain views would be affected.

Please keep your notes coming. We love to hear what our classmates are doing! ❖ Jessica Rosenthal Chod (email Jessica) | Hilary Johnson King (email Hilary) | Alumni Directory.

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2006

Summer in Ithaca means gorges, reunions, and memories of campus in full bloom. Wherever this July finds you, let your classmates know what you’ve been up to—big news or small. Please take a moment to fill out the online news form. ❖ Class of 2006 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2007

Hello, Class of 2007! I was recently in London for spring break with my family and am now planning summer travels and hanging with some Cornell friends in the sun.

Maria Adelmann recently published her newest novel, The Adjunct. According to the publisher, it’s “a fresh take on the campus novel that follows Sam, an adjunct professor gigging her way through academia’s poor job market when she crosses paths with her old PhD advisor whose new novel might be about her. … With biting humor and a keen eye for detail, Maria Adelmann offers a fresh twist on a tangled #MeToo story and turns Sam’s downward spiral into a searing critique of class and the hollow promises of the American dream. A hilarious yet sobering look at how hustle culture has come to define modern academia, The Adjunct asks: Who really controls the narratives of success, identity, and power?”

Rashel Dorleans, an educator at Brooklyn’s High School for Medical Professions, has received a Fulbright Teacher Exchange award for the 2025–26 cycle from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Rashel is one of the approximately 400 master teachers and administrators who participate in the Fulbright Teacher Exchanges each year. In addition, approximately 800 individuals teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright Program annually. Over 2,000 college graduates, graduate students, and early career professionals participate in study/research exchanges or serve as English teaching assistants in local schools abroad through the Fulbright Program each year. What a fantastic honor!

Michael Oak ’07, MPS ’09, and Jen Riley ’09, BS ’08, are still happily living small in a circa-1850s tiny cabin in Berryville, VA, now in their sixth year of tiny-home life.

Congratulations to Kuok Meng Xiong, who recently joined the board of the PPB Group, a Malaysian conglomerate with interests in food production, film production, property management, and more. He spent earlier parts of his career with the Shangri-La hotel group, and he also founded the Singapore-based venture capital firm K3 Ventures.

After a 15-year career at Aon, Michael Oak, MPS ’09, launched his own consulting firm, Michael Oak Advisors, focused on helping mission-driven institutional investors align compensation with performance and purpose. His wife, Jen Riley ’09, BS ’08, continues as hospital director at Blue Ridge Wildlife Center. They’re still happily living small in a circa-1850s tiny cabin in Berryville, VA, now in their sixth year of tiny-home life.

Looking forward to sharing more stories with everyone! Have any updates, big or small? Please feel free to reach out to me or submit online. ❖ Samantha Feibush Wolf (email Samantha) | Alumni Directory.

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2008 & 2009

Happy summer! All’s quiet from these classes this round, but we’d love to change that. Help us fill future columns with news from near and far—career changes, family milestones, travels, volunteer work, hobbies, and Cornell connections alike. ❖ Classes of 2008 & 2009 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2010s

2010

Hi! Grace Guichardo Watkins, here again. Wishing you all a bright and sunny summer!

This Class Notes cycle, I’d like to shine a spotlight on Geraldine Guichardo, who was promoted to senior director, global loyalty at Marriott. Geraldine has an extensive track record with unique expertise in the hospitality research and insight space. After graduating from Cornell’s Nolan School of Hotel Administration, she worked as a transaction real estate senior consultant at Ernst & Young. She used her bilingual fluency to advise on hotel acquisitions throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

After taking a hiatus to complete her MBA at Duke’s Fuqua School of Management, Geraldine reentered the hospitality space working for JLL. Throughout these past 16+ years, she has paid it forward by volunteering for a nonprofit supporting children’s literacy in the greater Chicago area and is a board member of the Real Estate Association of Latinx Professionals. Cheers to Geraldine, who deserves all the career accolades coming her way!

As a reminder, we welcome all updates about your life. Feel free to share both the wonderful things you are doing in your community and the simple joys of everyday life. Cheers to April showers and May flowers!

We are genuinely excited to share your news! You’ll next hear from Jennifer Wholey Lehman in the September / October Class Notes. ❖ Grace Guichardo Watkins (email Grace) | Jennifer Wholey Lehman (email Jennifer) | Alumni Directory.

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2011

Summer in Ithaca means gorges, reunions, and memories of campus in full bloom. Wherever this July finds you, let your classmates know what you’ve been up to—big news or small. Please take a moment to fill out the online news form. ❖ Class of 2011 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2012

Mouleena Khan appeared in a previous Class Notes column, in which we noted a New York Times piece that detailed the opening of her new restaurant, Cheeni, in Brooklyn. You can now read all about Cheeni and Mouleena’s career switch in a recent Cornellians story, which includes references to several other Cornell alums (including Class of ’12 classmates!) who helped Mouleena get Cheeni off the ground:

“Sister Alisha Khan ’16 aided with décor; Jessica Lopez volunteered as a server for the first few weeks; Kim Murphy offered PR and planning strategy; and Ishaan Berry, BS ’13, helped refine the cuisine and suggested the name, which means ‘sugar’ in Bengali and Hindi.”

Congratulations to Mouleena—and go visit Cheeni the next time you find yourself in Brooklyn! ❖ Peggy Ramin (email Peggy) | Alumni Directory.

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2013

In late April, Jared Karson was featured in a “Leadership Lunch and Learn” webinar, hosted by Alumni Affairs. According to the webinar’s description, “After Cornell Engineering and years in investment banking and private equity, Jared made a move that surprised a lot of people: founding a company in Latin America. Eight years later, Horatio has grown to nearly 3,000 people, helping U.S. companies build high-performing teams across the region. He reflects on the unconventional path from Big Red athlete to Wall Street to entrepreneur—and what building Horatio taught him about leadership, opportunity, and why Latin America was the right bet all along.”

Prior to his work with Horatio, Jared was a vice president at PineBridge Investments in their private equity group, deploying and managing over $2 billion in capital. Prior to PineBridge, Jared worked in mergers and acquisitions investment banking at Nomura Securities and at Goldman Sachs. He received a BS in operations research and industrial engineering with a minor in business from Cornell and an MBA from Columbia Business School. At Cornell, he was the captain of the tennis team and in a social fraternity. ❖ Class of 2013 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2014

Hello, Class of 2014! It has been a few months since I’ve had any news to share in our column, so I want to encourage you to write in with your news (big or small). I look forward to hearing from you! ❖ Samantha Lapehn Young (email Samantha) | Alumni Directory.

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2015

Hope everyone is having a great summer so far! Brian O’Connor, a product designer based in New York, recently helped launch an AI-powered Pet Health Predictor to help pet parents understand expected preventive care needs and costs. His work is across pet health, insurance, preventive care, payments, and AI-supported consumer experiences.

New job? New house? New life change? Let us know; we would love to feature you! ❖ Caroline Flax (email Caroline) | Alumni Directory.

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2016

Hayley Sopko Duffy, BS ’17, is director of design and engineering at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, one of the nation’s leading theme parks.

According to a recent Cornellians story, “It’s Hayley’s job to oversee capital projects in the 130-acre theme park, as well as at Water Country USA, its sister facility and the largest water park in the state—hiring and working with the vendors who design and build rides, theming elements, lighting, sound systems, and more.

“‘It’s mostly project management, but it’s really fun, because every day you’re out on site looking at something—and it’s not just roller coasters, it’s restaurants, bathrooms, anything in the park,’ says the Engineering alum. ‘It’s a nice, fast-paced environment.’” You can read the full story here! ❖ Class of 2016 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2017

“At first glance, the art that Anna Warfield, BS/BFA ’18, creates—with its puffy letters in cotton-candy colors—looks like it might belong in a playroom,” a recent story in Cornellians reports. “But while the work may appear lighthearted, it has a serious aim: to challenge how viewers understand identity and communication.

“‘I think of my art like a siren of the sea: it pulls you in because of the whimsy of soft colors and floating words,’ says Warfield. ‘But when you dig into it, it bites a little bit—usually because I’m making us have a conversation about bodily awareness, autonomy, how we exist in the world, or how our individual existence affects others.’

“Based in Binghamton (an hour southeast of Ithaca), Warfield specializes in combining soft sculpture and poetry—creating works that feature fabric letters, primarily in pink hues, sewn together into words and phrases. Often suspended in midair—hanging from gallery ceilings, pinned to walls, or arranged in flag-like forms—the art makes language physical and abstract, using phrases like ‘think louder through those parched lips’; ‘speak from the back of your eyes’; and ‘palms silently press lovely vessels and melt a warm mouth.’” You can read the full story here. ❖ Class of 2017 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2018

Please consider this your friendly reminder that classmates enjoy hearing your everyday updates just as much as major milestones. What have you been up to lately? Drop us a line. ❖ Class of 2018 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2019

Meghan McKenzie Russell, BS ’18, was recently featured in a Cornellians story about her fashion startup, which sells secondhand clothing and accessories from social media influencers’ closets.

“While working in marketing for a sustainable jeans company, Meghan was staffing an event promoting the brand to social media influencers when she overheard attendees complaining that their closets were overflowing. As she explains: in the world of influencing, companies commonly give content creators clothing, shoes, bags, makeup, and other products in exchange for publicity.

“‘The thing with influencers, though,’ Meghan explains, ‘is they may wear an outfit once on social media, and then never again.’ To give content creators a way to offload unwanted products while generating income—and to divert ‘fast fashion’ items from the landfill—Russell founded Detoure, an online marketplace for influencers’ secondhand clothing and accessories.” ❖ Class of 2019 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2020s

2020

“Since I graduated from Cornell AAP with a BFA and architecture minor, I wanted to share that I have nearly completed an MFA in industrial design at Parsons,” writes Sam Price, BFA ’21. “It was here where a studio partnership to create a concept offering for design firm Areaware evolved into something more: a product that will be debuting to the public at this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF).

“That project is called Bookworms, a sculptural pairing that function as bookends, book stands, display frames, and page holders for the titles you treasure most. Made from eco-friendly geopolymer cement, each set is designed to last for generations and bring lasting support to your shelf.” ❖ Class of 2020 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2021

No news to share this round, but we’d still love to hear from you. Whether you’ve moved, traveled, started something new, or simply rediscovered your favorite Cornell memories, send along an update for a future issue. ❖ Class of 2021 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2022

Callie Gu is currently attending the University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine. This year, she was accepted into the Henderson Program, offered by New England Donor Services (NEDS), which seeks to address long-standing inequities in organ donation.

Recent data shows that donor registration rates among Black, Asian, and Hispanic Americans are lower compared to other racial and ethnic groups; Black patients are less likely than white patients to be preemptively referred for transplant evaluation; Black, Asian, and Hispanic patients have substantially lower rates of living donor kidney transplantation compared to white patients; and only 4% of transplant surgeons and physicians are Black.

Named in honor of Dr. Galen Henderson, who served as an associate medical director for NEDS and the first Black neurointensivist in the U.S., the Henderson Program aims to train the next generation of medical students from across New England on ways to improve fairness in organ donation and transplantation in healthcare.

A hallmark feature of the program is the opportunity for students to talk to organ donor families, living donors, and transplant patients. Students also observe organ and tissue recovery, shadow transplant physicians and surgeons at regional transplant centers, and complete a scholarly project as part of the program. ❖ Class of 2022 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2023

Your classmates are curious: What are you reading, building, growing, teaching, learning, exploring, or celebrating these days? Class Notes are always better when more voices join in. ❖ Class of 2023 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2024

According to a recent Cornellians story, our classmate Steve Hoge was first author on a paper published in the journal Apidologie about the regular mining bee. This wild, solitary, ground-nesting species is an important pollinator—and an Ithaca cemetery is home to one of the largest and oldest recorded aggregations of them in the world, with an estimated 5.5 million individual insects.

Steve’s research delves into the biology of these economically important but understudied wild bees, using those at the cemetery as a case study. Steve—who majored in biology and society in Arts & Sciences and is now a research assistant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard, with plans to attend med school in the fall—conducted the study as an undergrad on the Hill.

The paper describes a novel method for documenting many aspects of bee biology, reveals how such wild bees are extremely important agricultural pollinators for high-value specialty crops, and points to the importance of cemeteries as preserves of biological diversity. You can read more here! ❖ Class of 2024 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2025

Sam Alston and Adam Rose ’26, BS ’25, both left finance jobs to start a nonpartisan political tech company called Civoren. According to its website, “The company was founded after Adam and Sam watched a friend run for local office in Ithaca and saw how hard it was for voters to find clear information about his campaign. That experience revealed a bigger problem: election information is scattered, campaign tools are fragmented, and both candidates and voters are left navigating a system that should be much simpler.

“Civoren exists to fix that. We are building a two-sided platform because that is what elections require: better discovery and engagement for voters, and better tools and visibility for candidates. Our goal is to make running more accessible and participating more straightforward.”

Adam graduated with honors from ILR; his senior thesis focused on policy and cybersecurity in healthcare. Before founding Civoren, Adam worked in local government, served as a campaign fellow on a congressional re-election campaign, and worked as a macro analyst at an investment bank in New York.

Sam studied computer science on the Hill and competed as a lightweight rower in the Varsity 8+, ultimately earning 2nd Team All-Ivy honors and racing at the Henley Royal Regatta in England. Before joining Civoren full time, he worked as a software engineer at a multi-strategy hedge fund in New York. ❖ Class of 2025 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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2026

Camille Brady, BS ’25, recently wrote a personal essay for Cornellians about channeling her experience surviving pediatric cancer into advocacy.

“When you’re 12 years old and diagnosed with cancer, nobody asks if you’re up for it. You just do what the doctors say, show up to your appointments, and get through it. That’s the job. When I was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in my pelvis, that job became mine. For 10 months, I treated chemotherapy and radiation like shifts to get through, knowing that eventually I’d clock out and get back to my life.

“Luckily, by my 13th birthday, I was cancer-free and ready to do exactly that. I thought I’d retired from that job for good. But during my senior year of high school, a routine scan picked up a new tumor. This time, it was ‘radiation-induced’ osteosarcoma—a secondary cancer caused by the very treatments that had saved my life. So I went back to work. Another year of chemotherapy followed, accompanied by a major hip surgery that has left me unable to walk without a crutch or foot brace.

“What I didn’t expect was that surviving cancer would become an entirely new job. I had to learn how to navigate life with a disability and figure out how I could make college work.” You can read the full essay here. ❖ Class of 2026 (email c/o Alexandra Bond ’12) | Alumni Directory.

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Grad

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Joseph Gilio, MS ’66, shares that he is celebrating his 57th year of marriage to his wife, Angela, this summer. The couple has three daughters (who amazingly were all born on the same day, several years apart!) and eight grandchildren. He writes, “I taught college and then went into business for myself, using knowledge and enthusiasm I received from great professors and grad students in my days on the Hill. That business was in environmental science, where I ‘aquascaped’ stormwater retention systems; ‘aquascaped’ water bodies develop natural lake functions through photosynthesis and the food web to improve water quality and fishing for residents.” Joseph has lived in Florida since 1970 and enjoys the weather, going to the beach, fishing, and golf. Today, his primary focus is being the founder and acting president of the Lake Okeechobee Restoration Initiative Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to cleaning up “the largest dirty lake in the U.S.” He adds, “Two of our grandkids graduated, two will graduate, and the others are in transit, so visiting extended family is always happening. We have discovered cruise ships, both far and near. Snorkeling with blacktip sharks in Bora Bora will always be a highlight. At age 84, I just caught my first sailfish.”

Maria Teresa Reinoso-Perez, PhD ’24, received a BioOne Ambassador Award, an annual honor recognizing early-career scientists who excel at communicating their work to broader audiences, fostering public understanding and appreciation of science. BioOne is a nonprofit collaborative and leading content aggregator in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. Maria was nominated by the Wildlife Disease Association for research published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases on identifying microbes present in wild house finches in Mexico and understanding the impact on the birds.

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Architecture, Art, and Planning

In March, Renee Price, MRP ’78, won the primary election for her district in the North Carolina House of Representatives—and, with no opposition in November, Renee will be serving her third two-year term in the House beginning in January 2027. She previously served 10 years as a county commissioner. Renee says the irony is that she preferred planning cityscapes to political science classes while studying at Cornell. “Many thanks to my professors for preparing me for this life of public service decades ago.”

Sarosh Anklesaria, MArch ’10, and Cornell architecture associate professor Lily Chi coedited a collection of essays called Building and Unbuilding the City Museum: From Le Corbusier to Ahmedabad. In it, they examine the beginning, present, and possible future of the Sanskar Kendra museum, designed by architect Le Corbusier, in Ahmedabad, India—which was built following India’s independence to be a cultural space. The campus is currently closed and has fallen into disrepair, leaving people with questions around its purpose and place in the city’s contemporary life.

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Arts & Sciences

William Cook, MA ’70, PhD ’71, taught for 42 years at SUNY Geneseo and retired as a distinguished teaching professor. He published five books and created nine classes for the Great Courses company, which offers a series of college-level online lectures. After retirement, he established the Bill Cook Foundation, which builds and supports schools, libraries, science labs, and other facilities in over 30 countries including South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Kosovo, Honduras, and Guatemala. He is interested in connecting with students and alumni who may want to learn more about the foundation and get involved themselves, including as interns.

Jacques Bailly, MA ’94, PhD ’97, was recently featured in a Cornellians story titled, “How Do You Spell a National Bee Legend? J-A-C-Q-U-E-S B-A-I-L-L-Y!” According to the post, “Since 2003, Jacques has been the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s head pronouncer, who reads words aloud and answers contestants’ queries about definition, usage, language of origin, and more. In 2006, he even played himself in the film Akeelah and the Bee, about a girl from South Los Angeles who makes it to the competition. ‘I think it’s kind of amusing, and bemusing, that people pay attention to me, because I’m just there to deliver the words,’ says Jacques, a classics professor at the University of Vermont. ‘All I do is sit there and talk like I normally do, though I try to pronounce words a bit crisper. It just feels like a mini-conversation with each speller.’” You can read the full story here!

Gavin Sacks, MS ’02, PhD ’05, the chair and professor of food science for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was recently featured on the Research Matters video podcast series. This podcast features candid conversations with Cornell researchers who are tackling some of society’s most urgent challenges and finding solutions that make a difference. In this episode, Gavin discusses the hidden chemistry inside aluminum cans and unpacks how subtle reactions affect the flavor, safety, and shelf life of popular beverages—and the innovative fixes now in development.

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Business

John Hui, MBA ’15, recently joined the advisory committee of the Health Tech Hub at Cornell Tech. He was also nominated by Crain’s New York Business for its “Notable Leaders in Health Care 2026” list. The nominees represent the industry leaders behind New York State’s hospitals and healthcare systems that generate $247 billion in annual economic activity, including premier academic medical centers and health tech startups. John is the chief development officer of Rendr, a comprehensive, multi-specialty medical group dedicated to serving the Chinese community in New York City. Rendr has more than 250 providers managing the health of approximately 166,000 primary care patients across 100+ clinic sites.

Joe Johnson, GR ’19–20, is the CEO and founder of the Bone Sauce, which is a national award-winning and patent-pending sauce company. Joe’s signature chicken wing sauce is crafted using a process that allows it to be made with 100% real butter that won’t solidify when refrigerated. He fine-tuned this while he was a graduate student in the MMH program at the Nolan Hotel School in 2019. Joe has been a chef for the past 22 years and an executive chef for nine. Before coming to the Hill, he won first place for Best Traditional Sauce at the National Chicken Wing Festival in Buffalo, NY, in 2017 as well as many other accolades in the following years. “Joe is a culinary innovator whose breakthrough began during his time in the MMH program at Cornell,” writes Taylor Lea Thomas, MMH ’20. “I mean, who has the foresight to patent a sauce? He’s brilliant! With his companies, he’s shaping the next era of hospitality, redefining industry standards, and pushing boundaries.”

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Engineering

Saurabh Netravalkar, ME ’16, was recently featured in a Cornellians story because he is one of the top cricket players in the world! According to the story, Saurabh lives in the Bay Area, where he balances his role as a software engineer at Oracle with a career as a professional cricketer. A left-arm bowler for the U.S. national team and Washington Freedom of Major League Cricket, he recently competed in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, including a return to his hometown of Mumbai, India, where he once trained as a member of India’s youth national program. Read more here.

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Graduate School

Damon Centola, MA ’04, PhD ’06, and Robb Willer, MA ’04, PhD ’06, won fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, which (according to its website) offers monetary stipends to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge, under the freest possible conditions. Damon is the Elihu Katz Professor of Communication, Sociology, and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. His work focuses on social networks and behavior change. Robb is a professor in the departments of sociology and psychology and in the graduate school of business at Stanford University. His focus is on the social forces that bring people together and divide them, and the interplay of forces that do both. Of the three awards given to sociologists this year, two went to Cornellians.

Diego Quiros, PhD ’17, is a faculty member at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where he lectures in geophysics and seismology. This interest traces back to his undergrad days on the Hill, when Diego contributed to the campus effort to record an August 2011 Virginia earthquake felt in Ithaca—and then chased the aftershocks, capturing a detailed seismic dataset of the rare, magnitude 5.8 East Coast earthquake. “I went to Virginia with my PhD supervisor,” he said, “and we recorded all the aftershocks that happened after the big earthquake. It was really clean data and had a lot of events in it.” Diego was recently featured in a Cornell Chronicle article for his efforts to support a “scholar under threat”; he is currently hosting Cameroonian Ndikum “Eric” Ndoh in his University of Cape Town department, after Ndoh’s seismic research at the University of Bamenda in Cameroon was halted by conflict in the region. You can learn more here.

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Industrial and Labor Relations

After 45 dedicated years, Douglas McCabe, PhD ’77, has retired from teaching and research. He is now professor emeritus of management at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in Washington, DC.

Cory Sanford, MPS ’19, has published a book called HR You Kidding Me?: Surprisingly Simple Steps to Unlock the Power of People, a practical guide for HR professionals, managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs who want to modernize people practices and build stronger workplace cultures. It guides readers through the employee life cycle with practical tools, real-world examples, and straightforward approaches to hiring, onboarding, leadership, culture, and offboarding.

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Veterinary Medicine

Elisha Frye, DVM ’10, associate professor of practice in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences at the College of Veterinary Medicine, was recently featured on the Research Matters video podcast series. Elisha explains how the Animal Health Diagnostic Center works at the front lines of detecting and preventing diseases that can jump between animals and humans. She answers questions about how climate change and new technologies are reshaping disease surveillance and what we can do to help stop outbreaks before they start. You can watch here!

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Group

University Chorus & Glee Club

As I write this, After Eight alums and current students are busy preparing for the 35th anniversary of A8 and the 50th anniversary of the original Nothing But Treble subset of the Chorus at Reunion in June—expect many updates in the next column!

The Hangovers also had a big milestone this year, and alums from the 1980s and early ’90s celebrated their 40th Reunion in style in Italy! If you follow Joel Seligman ’89, BS ’91, MPS ’00, on Facebook, he posted lots of fun updates, photos, and videos. Joining him on the trip were Glee Club and Chorus alums and spouses, including (and probably not limited to) Gil ’86 and Kristy Keteltas, Kenyon, MPS ’81, and Betsy Murphy Erickson ’80, Gene ’82 and Margaret Thomas Stromecki ’86, Robert Mack ’85, Don Peck, JD ’86, Cesar Rospigliosi ’90, Tony Brown ’90, Scott Becker ’88, Ron Schiller ’86, Derek Thomas ’90, Peter Sherwood ’85, PhD ’93, Bruce Smith ’89, Jake White ’88, and Cornell Stinson ’86.

Back in the U.S., twin sisters Christina Thompson Lively ’96 and Meredith Thompson ’96 are busy performing around New England. Check out their website.

Steve Engelbrecht ’01 has written a new musical, called If I Could Go.

Steve Engelbrecht ’01 has written a new musical, called If I Could Go, directed by Peter Flynn with musical direction by Chris Ranney. It debuted as a staged reading Off Broadway as part of the Spark Festival on April 23 at TADA! Youth Theater as part of the festival’s celebration of new theatrical voices. From Broadway World: “Inspired by the ancient Irish legend of Tír na nÓg—the Land of Eternal Youth—If I Could Go reimagines the myth through a contemporary lens.

“Set between modern-day Dublin and a crumbling mythic realm, If I Could Go follows Oisín, a shy bookshop clerk who escapes into fantasy worlds—until one quite literally opens for him. When Niamh, a princess from the immortal land of Tír na nÓg, reaches out across worlds in search of a hero, Oisín steps into a journey that will test his courage, his identity, and the very nature of love. As the boundaries between worlds collapse, both must confront the cost of escape versus the necessity of living fully in the present.” Featured in the show are three-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch and Broadway actress Andréa Burns. Read more here.

To close out, we have some newly minted high school graduates heading off to college this fall, including Danielle Benaviv-Meskin ’96’s daughter, Sophie, heading to the University of Richmond to study cognitive science, and Christina Gee ’93’s son, Jordan, who will be matriculating at Case Western Reserve University to study mechanical engineering. Wishing both the students and parents the best of luck! ❖ Alison Torrillo French ’95 (email Alison) | Alumni Directory.

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Top: Photo by Jason Koski / Cornell University

Published July 1, 2026